SC to hear on Wednesday pleas related to tractor rally violence on Republic Day

Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a batch of pleas pertaining to tractor rally violence in national capital on Republic Day, including one which has sought setting up of a commission heed by a retired apex court judge to inquire into incident.

tractor pare on January 26 that was to highlight demands of farmer unions to repeal three new agri laws dissolved into anarchy on streets of national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from ramparts of iconic Red Fort.

petitions would be taken up for hearing by a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

One of pleas filed by vocate Vishal Tiwari has sought setting up of a three-member inquiry commission under chairmanship of a former apex court judge and comprising of two retired high court judges for collecting and recording evidence and submit a report on January 26 violence to top court in a time bound manner.

He has also sought direction to concerned authority to lodge FIRs against individuals or organisations responsible for violence and causing dishour of National Flag on January 26.

Ar petition has been filed by vocate Mahar Lal Sharma who has sought a direction to concerned authority as well as media t to declare farmers as "terrorist" without any evidence.

Sharma has claimed in his plea that re was a “planned conspiracy” to sabot protest by farmers’ and y were allegedly declared as “terrorist” without any evidence.

He has sought directions to prohibit propagation of “false allegations and actions declaring” farmers as terrorist without any evidence.

Besides petitions filed by Tiwari and Sharma, court would also hear some or pleas related to incident.

In his petition, Tiwari has said that farmers’ protest against three new agri laws is going on for over two months but it took a “violent turn” during tractor pare.

“Unfortunately, tractor march took a violent turn leaving injuries and destruction of public property. This incident also effected daily life of public. internet services were interrupted as government ordered operators to suspend same. In present time, internet services are very essential to carry out work in different professions especially in vocacy as courts and our Supreme Court of India is functioning online,” Tiwari has said in his plea.

It said that clash between farmers and police on Republic Day has caught attention of entire world.

“ matter is serious because when protest was going on peacefully for last two months n suddenly, how it turned into violent movement and led violence on January 26. question for consideration in national security and public interest arises that who is responsible for creating disturbance and how and who turned peaceful farmer protest into violent movement or how and who created circumstances which let protest turn violent,” it said.

plea said re may be some conspiracy by some “torious forces or organizations” to cause disturbance and dam peaceful protest and create clash between police and protesting farmers.

On January 20, Centre h withdrawn its application, filed through Delhi Police, seeking an injunction against proposed tractor march on January 26 after apex court h said that issue of tractor rally by farmers protesting against new farms laws was in “executive domain”.

On January 12, apex court h stayed implementation of contentious new farm laws till furr orders and constituted a four-member committee to make recommendations to resolve impasse over m between Centre and farmers' unions protesting at Delhi borders.

members of court-appointed committee were -- Bhupinder Singh Mann, National President of Bhartiya Kisan Union, All India Kisan Coordination Committee; Parmod Kumar Joshi, Director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute; Ashok Gulati, agricultural ecomist and former chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, and Anil Ghanwat, President of Shetkari Sanghatana.

Later, Mann h recused himself from committee. top court h on January 12 said it would hear pleas against farm laws after eight weeks when committee would give its suggestions to resolve impasse after talking to protesters and government.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Presh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month w against three laws -- Farmers' Produce Tre and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.