Supreme Court issues notice to Centre on pleas against recently passed farm laws

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the central government seeking its explanation on multiple legal challenges made to the recently-enacted farm laws – the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020.

The government will have to respond to the top court notices within four weeks. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde issued the notices on two petitions filed in this connection by a DMK MP and a Congress leader. A third petition filed by lawyer Manoharlal Sharma was dismissed as withdrawn.

CJI Bobde said that there was no cause of action in Sharma’s plea and urged him to withdraw his plea. He also dubbed the appearance of three senior law officers of the government in the case as a case of “overkill”. Sharma claimed that he was seeking to have the laws quashed but the bench refused to hear it.


Mere passing of a legislation does not create a cause of action, the CJI observed. The bench later issued notices on the laws in two other petitions. One was by Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress leader Rakesh Vaishnav and the other by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, both challenging the laws as unconstitutional. The Chhattisgarh Congress leader was represented by an advocate

Explaining his decision, the CJI said that these laws had been challenged in multiple high courts and the government would have to address these issues sooner or later. “You have to anyway deal with the issues. Why don’t you file a reply?” the CJI-led bench asked the AG and the SG.

The bench will address the legal issues involved in the case after it receives a reply from the government.

The recent laws have kicked off a huge political controversy with many political parties and activists expressing fear that big companies would take over the crucial agricultural sector to the detriment of the small farmers.

These laws dismantle the existing system of government agencies procuring extra farm produce at a minimum support price and allow contract farming, under which farmers will produce crops as per contracts with corporate investors for a mutually agreed upon remuneration.

They also allow farmers the freedom to sell their produce wherever they want. The government argues that these will benefit the farmers and give a much needed boost to the agriculture sector.