Farmers shout slogans during the ‘Delhi Chalo’ protest march against the Center’s new agricultural laws, on 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 stay for the implementation of new agricultural laws that have sparked widespread protest from farmers, saying it would set up a panel to hear their objections.
For more than a month, tens of thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi, the capital, to protest reform measures that they say benefit large private buyers and harm producers.
Chief Justice Sharad Bobde said at a hearing that the Supreme Court would set up a group to hear farmers’ complaints.
“We have the power to form a committee and the committee can give us the report,” he said, ordering the stay for an undisclosed period of the laws passed in September.
“We will protect farmers.”
There were no further immediate details.
India says the laws are aimed at modernizing an outdated farming system, affected by waste and bottlenecks in the supply chain.
But farm leaders are demanding the repeal of the laws, which they say are an attempt to erode a long-standing mechanism that guarantees farmers a minimum price of support for their crops.
The government has said there was no question of this setback and eight rounds of negotiations have failed to find common ground. The two sides will meet next Friday.