Supreme Court Orders Haryana to Remove Barricades at Shambhu Border

The Supreme Court directed the Haryana government to remove barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been protesting since February. The court emphasized the state's duty to regulate traffic without obstructing highways.

The Supreme Court has instructed the Haryana government to dismantle the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been stationed since February 13. The directive came from a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, who questioned the state's decision to block the highway.

"How can a State block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate," the bench told the counsel representing the Haryana government. This observation followed the counsel's statement that the state was planning to appeal a July 10 Punjab and Haryana High Court order mandating the highway's reopening within seven days.

The bench further questioned the state's intent to challenge the High Court's order. "Why do you want to challenge the High Court's order? Farmers are also citizens of this country. Give them food and good medical care. They will come, raise slogans and go back. I think you don't commute by road," stated the bench. The High Court had ordered that barrications be lifted within a week on July 10.

In February, the Haryana government had erected barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi National Highway following the farmers' announcement of a march to Delhi to demand a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. The Supreme Court was reviewing the Haryana government's plea challenging a March 7 Punjab and Haryana High Court directive to form a committee to investigate the death of a 22-year-old farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, during the border protests.

On April 1, the Supreme Court declined to halt the judicial probe ordered by the High Court. Singh, hailing from Bathinda, Punjab, died on February 21 amid clashes between security personnel and farmers at the Khanauri border. The incident occurred as farmers attempted to breach barricades and were stopped from advancing towards Delhi.

The High Court established a committee headed by retired Judge Jaishree Thakur to investigate the incident, noting that the probe could not be solely overseen by either Punjab or Haryana due to potential biases. The committee received assistance from Punjab ADGP Promod Ban and Haryana ADGP Amitabh Singh Dhillon.