The vacation bench adjourned the hearing of the contempt petition to January 2, 2024.
Supreme Court on Farmers Protest Amid Jagjit Singh Dallewal Hunger Strike Latest News: The Supreme Court has granted the Punjab Government additional time to comply with its directive to provide medical assistance to farmers' protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike since November 26 at the Khanauri border.
The vacation bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, adjourned the hearing of the contempt petition against Punjab's Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) to January 2, 2024.
Punjab Advocate General (AG) Gurminder Singh informed the court that negotiators and intervenors had visited the protest site and that efforts to ensure compliance involved the deployment of approximately 7,000 personnel. However, he cited traffic disruptions caused by the recent Punjab Bandh as a challenge.
The AG also conveyed the protesters' proposal that Dallewal would accept medical aid if the Central Government initiated dialogue with the farmers.
Justice Surya Kant responded, "We will not comment on ongoing negotiations. If an outcome acceptable to all sides is achieved, we will be happy. For now, we are only concerned with compliance with our orders."
The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, stated that he had no instructions regarding the Punjab AG's submission.
The bench issued an order granting the Punjab Government three additional days to achieve compliance, citing "totality of circumstances and the interest of justice." It also required the virtual presence of the Chief Secretary and DGP of Punjab at the next hearing.
Earlier, on December 28, the court had expressed dissatisfaction with Punjab's compliance report concerning Dallewal’s hospitalisation.
Dallewal, a cancer patient suffering from age-related ailments, began his hunger strike to demand statutory guarantees for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and other issues. The court had previously directed Punjab authorities to shift him to a temporary or well-equipped hospital, but concerns about "collateral damage" at the protest site delayed action.
The court criticized the resistance from farmers and remarked on the "violent face of the so-called agitation." Meanwhile, the Punjab Government urged the Central Government to intervene, though the Solicitor General expressed concerns that such involvement might worsen the situation.
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