Farmers shout slogans during their ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march against the Centre’s new agricultural laws, at the Singhu border on December 2, 2020 in New Delhi, India.
Sonu Mehta | Hindustan Times via Getty Images
India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered an indefinite suspension over the implementation of new agricultural laws that have sparked widespread protests from farmers, and said it would set up a panel to hear their objections.
For over a month, tens of thousands of farmers have been camping in the suburbs of New Delhi, the capital, to protest reform measures that they say will benefit large private buyers and harm growers.
Chief Justice Sharad Bobde told a hearing that the Supreme Court would set up a panel to hear the farmers’ grievances.
“We have the power to put together a committee and the committee can give us the report,” he said, ordering it to stay for an undisclosed period based on the laws passed in September.
“We will protect farmers.”
There were no immediate further details.
India says the laws are to modernize an outdated agricultural system hampered by waste and supply chain bottlenecks.
But farmers are demanding the repeal of the laws, which they say are an attempt to hollow out a long-standing mechanism that guarantees farmers a minimum support price for their crops.
The government has said there was no such rollback, and no agreement was found in eight rounds of talks. The two sides will meet next Friday.