The Supreme Court on Friday questioned the central government’s schemes to deal with farmers’ suicides in the country.
A three-judge bench, presided over by Chief Justice J S Khehar, asked the government to frame schemes that will prevent the suicides, by addressing the circumstances that lead to take the extreme step.
“We think you (the government) are moving in the wrong direction. A farmer takes a loan, he fails to repay, he commits suicide and you pay his family a compensation. But we think the solution is not in granting the compensation but in stopping the suicides,” the bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, told Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, appearing for the Centre.
Highlighting the hardships faced by the farmers, the court said, “If there is a surplus, they don’t get good money for their crop and if there is a drought, they get nothing.”
“This is an important issue that has not been dealt with in years, and we want you to now do something for them. Give them some succour,” the court told the law officer.
Saying the government was making sincere efforts to check farmers’ suicides, Narasimha submitted that not all suicides by farmers were related to financial distress.
