Punjab & Haryana HC Orders Opening Of Shambhu Border Within A Week

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday ordered the Haryana government to open Shambhu Border within one week.

In July, a PIL was filed in Punjab & Haryana High Court, seeking directions to allow passing of public transports and vehicles from Shambhu border.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday ordered the Haryana government to open Shambhu Border within one week. The high court has directed both Punjab and Haryana governments to remove the blockages from borders and ensure law and order is maintained.

In July, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in Punjab & Haryana High Court, seeking directions to allow passing of public transports and vehicles from Shambhu border. The border was sealed and barricaded following farmers' protest and subsequent march to Delhi.

The PIL prayed that the closure of the border has been causing great difficulty to common people as NH 44 connects the national capital New Delhi to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

The Haryana government had set up barricades at the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February when farmer's associations Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) had announced to move towards Delhi in support of various demands, including a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Today, the high court while hearing a batch of petitions, ordered removal of all blockages.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued similar directions to the Punjab government for maintaining law and order, and stated that any barricading at the Punjab side should also be removed.

The order was passed by the division bench of justices G S Sandhawalia and Vikas Bahl.

Reportedly, the farmers have called a meeting on July 16 to discuss the matter. The farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February, when their march was stopped by the security forces. There are farmers still sitting on Punjab's side. Their number at present is about 400-500.