Delhi Police files petition to stop R-Day tractor march, top court issues notice

New delhi: With farmer leaders already making it clear on Monday that they will not engage with a committee set up by the Supreme Court to break the deadlock of the Centre's three farm laws, the Delhi Police on Tuesday morning filed a plea seeking an injunction against the farmers' planned Republic Day tractor march in Delhi.

The top court issued a notice to the farmer unions during Tuesday's hearing and said that it will consider the police's application after the notice is served, on January 18 (Monday).

Senior advocate Harish Salve, who is supposed to be representing law students seeking to remove the protesters in the hearings, submitted to the Chief Justice-led bench that the Republic Day Parade must go "unblemished" and when the CJI noted that senior advocate Dushyant Dave had given an undertaking of no such thing happening, Salve hit back by pointing out that Dave was not present in Tuesday's hearing.

Attorney General KK Venugopal also submitted that here was no question of letting 1 lakh people into the Capital at such a crucial time as there was no saying where they could go, legal website LiveLaw reported. The court quickly said that the police will obviously have the powers to check and control crowds for signs of

danger.

The Delhi Police, in its petition, filed by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said that it had received "inputs from security agencies" of a small group of farmers intending to hold a tractor march in Delhi on January 26, which is "slated to disrupt and disturb" the Republic Day Parade.

The police said that the right to protest cannot include the right to "malign the nation globally".

The Delhi Police also said that it had earmarked areas for holding tractor marches in the City after the "rehearsal" was held by farmers at the borders. It added that it was pointing this out to the SC to let it know that while the Delhi Police will do whatever is required to prevent a law and order situation, it has also always stood by and permitted peaceful protests.

However, after the developments in the Supreme Court, farmer leaders on Tuesday evening held a press conference where they reiterated their plans to continue the protests and hold the tractor march as planned. But Union leader Balbir Singh Rajewal clarified that the farmers' intent is not to occupy Parliament or even go to the Red Fort. "It will be a peaceful protest and the world will witness it," he said.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who has been leading protesting farmers at the UP-Delhi Chilla border said, "As of now, the farmers are not shifting to anywhere and the protest will continue. The farmers would participate in the Republic Day tractor march as it is a moment of national pride, not part of our protest."