Farmers’ protest: 161 bar association members want to remove SCBA President for seeking action against farmers

Farmers’ protest in Delhi: As many as 161 members have signed a resolution to call for a general body meeting to discuss the removal of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Adish C Aggarwala for his letter seeking suo motu action by the apex court against the farmers for their protest. 

The members stated that Aggarwala does not have any capacity or authority in the matter and to write such a letter using the letterhead of the SCBA is a “blatant misuse of his position”. “We, the (following) members of the Supreme Court Bar Association, call upon the Executive of the SCBA to call an urgent general body meeting of the SCBA seeking removal of Mr Adish C Aggarwala from the post of the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association,” the resolution stated. 

This resolution comes after Aggarwala wrote to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud to take suo motu action against the farmers for their protest. He said the earlier protests in 2021 and 2022 caused hardships to the people of Delhi. Aggarwala said many people who were trying to reach Delhi for treatment succumbed before they could reach the national capital for treatment.

Aggarwala, accusing the farmers of running a political protest, said that even if their demands are genuine, “they don’t have the right to put the general public to hardship”. The suo motu action would ensure that these farmers don’t cause any nuisance or cause inconvenience to the general public.

By not accepting the government’s solution, the farmers are causing problems to the people of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, stated Aggarwala in his letter, adding that farmers should “protest in their native places”. 

The protesting farmers seek to march to Delhi to press the Centre to agree to their various demands including a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price of crops, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report, loan waiver among others.

Also read: ‘They don’t have the right…’: Bar Association President calls for Supreme Court’s suo motu action against farmers for protest