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YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/13/2021 11:31:35 AM

SC sets up committee to resolve impasse over farm laws, seeks report in 2 months

New Delhi, Jan 12 In a big setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and ordered the setting up of a committee. The four-member committee has been asked by the Supreme Court to hold talks with farmers and submit its report within two months. The big development came a day after the Supreme Court rapped the central government over the impasse with the protesting farmers, saying it was “extremely disappointed” with the negotiation process. After some tough talk that the Centre has been given a “long rope” and "failed" to break the deadlock and not been "effective" in handling the stir, the SC on Monday proposed setting up a committee to find ways to resolve the impasse. When the SC resumed hearing on Tuesday, the bench ordered the formation of a panel to look into the farmers' grievances against the three farm laws and resolve the impasse over farmers between the Centre and farmers' unions protesting at Delhi borders. UPDATES HERE “We are not seized with matters of life and death. We are hearing the validity of farm laws. We are trying to solve the problem in accordance with law,” the CJI said. Here are top 10 developments on this big story on farmers’ protest: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the implementation of three farms laws until further orders. "We are going to stay the implementation of the three farmer legislations. Stay till further orders," said Chief Justice of India Bobde. The order was pronounced as a three-judge bench, headed by the CJI, took up a batch of petitions regarding the constitutional validity of three farm laws and the plea to disperse protesting farmers. A day after the SC told the Centre that it was “extremely disappointed” with the negotiation process, the court on Tuesday formed a four-member committee to hold talks with farmers over the contentious farm laws. The committee will now look into farmers' grievances against the three new laws. On the formation of the committee, CJI Bobde said, “We are forming a committee so that we have a clearer picture. We don't want to hear arguments that farmers will not go to the committee. We are looking to solve the problem. If you (farmers) want to agitate indefinitely, you can do so.” We are concerned about the validity of the laws and also about protecting the life and property of citizens affected by protests. We are trying to solve the problem in accordance with the powers we have. One of the powers we have is to suspend the legislation and make a committee Chief Justice of India Saying the Supreme Court was trying to solve the problem in the best way, the CJI said, “This committee will be for us. All of you people who are expected to solve the issue will go before this committee. It will not pass an order or punish you, it will only submit a report to us... The committee is part of the judicial process in this case. We are planning to suspend the laws but not indefinitely.” "We want that someone knowledgeable and sensible goes into the law clause by clause and tell us what’s wrong." The four members of the committee are Pramod Kumar Joshi of International Food Policy Research Institute, agriculture economist Ashok Gulati, Bhupinder Singh Mann of Bhartiya Kisan Union and Anil Ghanwat of Shetkeri Sangthana. The Supreme Court on Tuesday also issued notice to farmer associations on the Delhi Police application seeking to stop the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day by farmers protesting against the new farm laws. Attorney General KK Venugopal said if farmers are allowed to enter, then no one can say, where they will go. To this, the CJI replied: "The police are with you (government)... Entry to the city will be a decision of the police." On Monday, the Supreme Court called the situation delicate and said it was not talking about the repeal of these farm laws at the moment. “This is a very delicate situation,” the SC said, and added, “There is not a single petition before us which says that these farm laws are beneficial”. We are not experts on economy; you tell us whether government is going to put on hold farm laws or we will do this. We are sorry to say that Centre has not been able to solve the problem and the farmers agitation... We don't see why there is an insistence on the implementation of the law. The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde also went on to question the Centre’s vehement opposition to its suggestion that the implementation.