Update: 28 March 2025

On Friday, March 28, the administration of Punjab told the Supreme Court that it had ordered the farmers who were demonstrating to leave the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, which are close to Haryana, and that the National Highway was now open for traffic. Punjab’s Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the bench, which included Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh, that the hunger protest, which began in November of last year, had been called off by veteran protest leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

“Today, Mr. Dallewal sipped water and had breakfast,” AG Singh stated. The bench also declined to consider an indifference case against Punjabi officials for allegedly violating a Supreme Court ruling last year by allowing demonstrators to be cleared. The bench stated that the government has been urged for opening the HC by the court.

They have been requesting that the highway be opened. Advocate Angrej Singh, who was representing the contempt petitioner, was informed by Justice Kant that the contempt case was misconceived. The petitioner decided to take out the disdain lawsuit after this. Additionally, the court dismissed the disdain case that had been brought against the DGP and the Punjab Chief Secretary for failing to take action to hospitalize Dallewal, who was then fasting. The Court ordered the High Powered Committee, which it had established to negotiate with the governing bodies and the farmers who were speaking out, to submit its supplemental report.

When the farmers who were outraged agreed to meet with Justice (Retired) Nawab Singh, the Chairperson of the High-Powered Committee, the standoff between the Punjab government and the farmers broke out in January of this year. Following the Union’s commencement of negotiations with farmers protesting over issues like the bare essential support price, the Court was notified on January 22 that farmers’ spokesman Jagjit Singh Dallewal had consented to medical assistance. Following a decline in his health, Dallewal, who has been on an indefinite fast since November of last year, was directed to be moved to the medical hospital.

Last February, the farmers began protesting, calling for legal safeguards of the Minimum Support Price (MSP), among other things. To stop farmers from marching to Delhi, the Haryana government closed the NH boundaries. The demonstrators decided to set up camp at the borders of New Hampshire (likely meant to be National Highway borders). After being ordered to unblock the Shambhu border by the P&H High Court last year, the Haryana government went to the Supreme Court.