New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a joint hearing of the Centre and the farmers' unions in a bid to end the impasse amid the ongoing agitation at various Delhi borders.
The SC also proposed to form a committee, including the representatives of both the Centre and the farmer unions to arrive at some acceptable solution.
The top court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter on Thursday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre that it intends to set up a committee comprising representatives of the government, the Bharatiya Kisan Union and all other stakeholders across India to resolve this issue.
The bench observed that the situation warrants an urgent resolution measures through negotiations, in the backdrop of the agitating farmers at the Delhi borders not appearing to be in a mood to talk.
The top court apprehended that the protest could become a national issue and emphasized for reaching a solution via negotiations through this committee.
The top court issued notice to the Centre on the PILs seeking removal of farmers, who have blocked various Delhi borders.
The petitioner during the hearing cited top court order in the Shaheen Bagh matter, where it had said that the 'protesters cannot block public roads'.
The Chief justice told Mehta that the government negotiations may fail, therefore, it is necessary to have some farmer unions appear before the court to explain the matter.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Harish Salve on Wednesday found it difficult to join proceedings as the Supreme Court began hearing the petitions against the farmers who have blocked various Delhi borders.
Despite repeated requests, Salve was not allowed to join the hearing, through video conferencing, as the court master of the bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said no advocate-on-record has engaged Salve in these petitions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, informed the Chief Justice that Salve had sent him texts to make a request on his behalf to allow him to join the proceedings. But, the court master informed the Chief Justice that there is no intimation about his appearance in the matter, and he has no case today (Wednesday) in the court of the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice said:
"We will allow him if Salve has a case. There is no case of Salve before us."
Mehta insisted that Salve wants to put across some important legal points in the matter. Mehta made another intervention, stating that Salve has sent another text.
The Chief Justice told Mehta, please don't interrupt now. "It isn't that we don't want to hear Salve but he doesn't have any case before us. And if we entertain something like this, we get long representations from other lawyers", said the Chief Justice.
However, at the end of the hearing, the Chief Justice told Mehta to inform Salve to appear before the court on Thursday to participate in the proceedings.
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