Supreme Court to Hear Haryana's Plea on Shambhu Border Opening

The Supreme Court will address Haryana's challenge against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's directive to open the Shambhu border experimentally. The state cited law and order concerns. The hearing is scheduled for July 22, in response to recent barricades placed due to farmer protests.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list for a hearing on July 22 a plea by the Haryana government challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's recent interim order directing the opening of the Shambhu border on an experimental basis within a week to prevent public inconvenience.

The petition, mentioned by Senior Additional Advocate General of Haryana Lokesh Sinhal and advocate Akshay Amritanshu, comes after the court's July 10 order observed that the border closure was a significant inconvenience to the general public. The Haryana government had set up barricades in February on the Ambala-New Delhi highway following farmers' announcements of protests in support of various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.

The Haryana government's appeal argued that the High Court's order failed to consider the serious law and order repercussions and the threat to life and property around the Shambhu border. The state emphasized that law and order is a state subject and the decision to block or unblock the border should rest on an assessment of on-ground realities and threat perception.