New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a bunch of pleas related to tractor rally violence that rocked the national capital on Republic Day, including the one which has sought setting up of a commission headed by a retired apex court judge to inquire into the incident. Notably, the pleas would be taken up for hearing by a bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
On January 26, the tractor rally which was primarily meant to highlight the demands of farmer unions to repeal three new agriculture laws turned into anarchy on the streets of the national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with the police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.
Bunch of petitions
One of the pleas filed in the apex court has sought directions to the NIA to court-monitored investigation against anti-social elements, part of the tractor rally, who engaged in violence on the streets of the national capital on Republic Day.
The plea, filed through advocates Shashank Shekhar Jha and Manju Jetley Sharma, said the attack on the Red Fort and the national flag on Republic Day needs immediate attention. “The protestors cannot be allowed to put the government and people at ransom and undertake violence in the name of protest. The freedom of expression and protest cannot be absolute and must consider the rights of others,” said the plea.
Another petition was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari urging the top court to issue directions to register FIR against people or organisation responsible for dishonouring the national flag. “Unfortunately, the tractor march took a violent turn leaving injuries and destruction of public property. This incident also effected the daily life of the public. Internet services were interrupted as government ordered the operators to suspend the same,” said the plea.
On the day of the incident, a Mumbai-based law student had also written to Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde to take suo moto cognisance in an incident at Red Fort. So far, nearly five pleas have been filed in the top court seeking action against people who indulged in violence on the Republic Day.
SC stays farm laws
On January 12, the apex court had stayed the implementation of the contentious new farm laws till further orders and constituted a four-member committee to make recommendations to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.
The incident caught national and international attention after protesting farmers on Republic Day swarmed into the Red Fort in the national capital during a ‘tractor rally’ even as police tried to prevent them from driving towards central Delhi. The farmers barged into the 17th century monument, climbed up its ramparts and waved farmer union flags and banners and even hoisted a pennant.
Police vs protesters
Police and other security personnel deployed at the Red Fort were seen baton charging the protesters even as they were clearly outnumbered by the farmers. A few youth climbed up the flagpole on the ramparts of the fort and put up a saffron pennant with a religious symbol. Later, a few of them even climbed up further and fixed a farmer union flag near the spot where a bigger tricolour was aflutter.
Why protesting?
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.