Delhi HC refuses to entertain plea for complete end of Singhu border blockade

The border was closed on February 13 after farmers from Punjab began a march to Delhi demanding a legal guarantee for the minimum support price for crops. The border was partially opened to allow movement of vehicles after farmers postponed their march.

A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted petitioners Shankar Mor, Sachin Aneja, and Eknoor Singh, who work in Delhi and Gurgaon, liberty to file a representation for opening the border to the police. It reprimanded them for approaching the court straight away.

“Maybe they [police] have some intelligence and actionable information. We cannot take a chance…You and I cannot decide this. We do not know. …If the movement is restricted, they can take control immediately. Otherwise, it will take a very long time to take control of the situation. …We have not gone there, so we have no idea of what is happening,” the bench told advocate Sachin Miglani, who appeared for the petitioners.

“You have straight away marched [to the court] without preferring a representation. We cannot direct the government of Haryana [to decide the representation]. The Delhi Police may decide. The problem today is we have become so accessible. Anyone can file a petition. It is very cumbersome to file a representation to the state and get an answer. So everyone comes directly to us. Make a representation, let us know what their stand is.”

The court refused to consider the petition days after the Supreme Court constituted a former Punjab and Haryana high court judge Nawab Singh-led committee headed to amicably address the grievances of protesting farmers, saying that the issue should not be politicised.

The petitioner said not a single farmer had protested since February and the blockade of the National Highway-44 for over seven months was causing inconvenience to the public.

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