4 yıl önce

India's Supreme Court stays implementation of new farm laws

Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde said that the court will form a committee to hear farmers' grievances against the laws.

Reuters

A man walks inside the premises of the Supreme Court in New Delhi, India, July 17, 2018.

India's Supreme Court ordered an indefinite stay on Tuesday over the implementation of new agricultural laws that have triggered widespread protest from farmers, saying it would set up a panel to hear their objections.

For more than a month, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital, to protest against reform measures that they say benefit large private buyers and harm growers.

Chief Justice Sharad Bobde told a hearing the Supreme Court would establish a panel to hear the farmers' grievances.

"We have the power to make a committee and the committee can give us the report," he said, ordering the stay for an undisclosed period on the laws passed in September.

"We will protect farmers."

There were no immediate further details.

At the same time, images shared by Reuters news agency show Indian police officers were detaining activists from the main opposition party in the capital New Delhi on Tuesday.

Reuters

Police officers detain an activist of the youth wing of India's main opposition Congress party during a protest against new farm laws in New Delhi, India on January 12, 2021.

Old or new?

India says the laws aim to modernise an antiquated farming system, bedevilled by wastage and bottlenecks in the supply chain.

But farm leaders demand repeal of the laws, which they say are an attempt to erode a longstanding mechanism that ensures farmers a minimum support price for their crops.

The government has said there was no question of such a rollback, and eight rounds of talks have failed to find common ground.

The two sides are set to meet next on Friday.