New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday issued a notice to the Narendra Modi government on two petitions challenging the three farm laws recently passed by Parliament.
“Attorney, you will have to answer this question somewhere or the other. Instead of answering these (questions) in various high courts, you rather file a reply in this court,” a bench led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, who was present for the video-conference hearing along with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The petitions were filed by Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress’ Rakesh Vaishnav and DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, and the court listed them for further hearing after four weeks.
Vaishnav’s lawyer, K. Parameshwar, made a one-line submission before the court, resulting in the notice. “Farmers’ produce was being sold in the mandis of Chhattisgarh. But what this Act does is against the Constitution,” the lawyer contended.
The bench, however, refused to entertain the plea of advocate M.L. Sharma to quash the legislations, and asked him to withdraw his petition.
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What the petitions say
The petitions challenge the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Agriculture and Promotion) Act; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.
While the first Act is intended to enable the farmer to sell agriculture products in places outside the market yards regulated by Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC), the second supports the farmers with a legal framework for contract farming. The amended Essential Commodities Act would lead to a relaxation of food stock limits and price control over food products.
The three laws have faced stiff protests from opposition parties and non-BJP ruled states.
The petitioners have challenged the legislative competence to enact the three laws, submitting that agriculture trade is an exclusive state subject under the seventh schedule of the Constitution. Therefore, only the states have the jurisdiction to draft policies or enact any laws related to farmers.
“The basic fabric of federalism unites the Union and different states within an overarching political system in such a way so as to allow each to maintain its own fundamental political integrity,” states Siva’s petition.
Vaishnav’s petition claims the Acts also violate Articles 14, 21 and 23 of the Constitution by arbitrarily removing the protective measures meant for farmers.
The petitioners also added that the laws will dismantle the APMC system, which assures fair prices for farm products, and expose small farmers to exploitation by big corporates.
“These acts would pave way for cartelisation and commercialisation of the agricultural produces and, if allowed to stand, are going to ruin India as the corporates can, with one stroke, export our agricultural produce without any regulation, and may even result in famines,” reads Siva’s petition.
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