THE NEWS FREEDOM
CHANDIGARH, MARCH 7
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ordered a judicial probe into the tragic killing of a 21-year-old farmer named Shubhkaran Singh. The incident occurred during a clash between security personnel and protesting farmers at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. Taking note of the sensitivity of the matter, Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji constituted a three-member committee comprising a retired high court judge and two officers of ADGP rank from Haryana and Punjab. Notably, the high court emphasized that the investigation couldn’t be entrusted to either Punjab or Haryana, citing obvious reasons. The HC instructed both states to provide the names of the ADGP officers by 4 PM on the same day.
Expressing grave concern over the involvement of children in the protests, ACJ GS Sandhawalia said, “Children were being used as shield, this is absolutely shameful!it is a sad state of affairs, children who are supposed to study in school are shown what they should not be.t was a war-like situation.”
Furthermore, the high court questioned the Haryana government about the ammunition used against the protestors, demanding specifics on the type of bullets and pellets used by the police. After scrutinizing the affidavits submitted by both states, the court remarked that the farmer’s death appeared to be a result of excessive police force. It also reprimanded the Punjab Police for the delay in filing an FIR regarding the protester’s death, which occurred on February 21 but wasn’t lodged until February 28.
While talking to the media outside the court, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain said that the Central government was open to discussions with farmer leaders in Chandigarh or Delhi and informed the high court about it.