Delhi HC's women legal forum to fast tomorrow in solidarity with protesting farmers
Dec 22, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 22 : A forum of women lawyers, social Group of Lawyers of Delhi High Court have decided to fast on Wednesday in solidarity with the ongoing "Satyagrah" by farmers demanding to roll back the recently passed farm laws.
Lawyers associated with the forum demanded to repeal the three farm laws on December 23, the day which is observed as Kisan Diwas.
"It is our belief that while the issue of the Constitutionality of the farm laws being enacted by the Center when agriculture is a state subject is subjudice before the Supreme Court and the issue of the legality of the enactment by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha is also being heard by the Supreme Court, implementation of irreversible and far-reaching farm laws would render these petitions infructuous and could cause irreparable damage to the farm sector in India," the forum said in a press statement on Tuesday.
The forum includes senior advocates Indira Jaising, Mahalakshmi Pawani, Biswajit Bhattacharya
Mohan Katarki, Anand Grover and advocates Shadan Farasyat, Prashant Padmanabham, Ritu diwan, etc. It also includes members Shweta Kapoor, Zeba Khair and Iram Majid among others.
It said that the forum lawyers are against dismantling the regulatory mechanism of minimum support price (MSP) and permitting big corporates to negotiate with small farmers, who it said lack the means to enforce or negotiate contracts especially due to the absence of effective legal aid and judicial infrastructure in rural India.
"The decisions of corporates driven by profit would also affect the food security if India and cropping patterns would be determined not by local needs but by international market forces.
While the Indian and global economy, especially urban employment is badly hit by covid, 80 per cent of the country is dependent for its sustenance on agriculture, imposing such far-reaching legislation upon a vulnerable citizenry in such an unconstitutional manner is a matter of grave concern," the statement said.
"The father of our nation, Mahatama Gandhi said that if you silently watch injustice, it is as good as perpetrating it. We, therefore, have decided to observe a one-day fast in keeping with the moral practice of Satyagrah observed by Bapu against the injustice and haste of imposing the New Farm Laws, in solidarity of farmers," it added.
This comes as thousands of farmers have been protesting at the borders of the national capital against the three farm laws, recently passed by the Central government. While farmer leaders and the Centre are engaged in several rounds of talks, discussions have remained inconclusive so far.
