"Your Apprehension Has No Basis": Supreme Court To Haryana On Probe Into Man's Death At Farmers' Protest

The Supreme Court declined to stay a judicial investigation ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court into the death of a 22-year-old man during the protest by farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border.

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan said those who had approached the high court seeking the judicial probe have "some genuine apprehensions".

"The allegations are against the Haryana Police. Let it come up before the high court on April 10," Justice Kant said.

The Bench turned down the contention of the Haryana government that the order will impact the morale of the police.

"Your apprehension has no basis," the Supreme Court said.

On February 13, 22-year-old Shubhkaran Singh left his home in Baloke village in Punjab's Bathinda district to join the farmers' march to Delhi. Eight days later, he was killed in clashes between the farmers and police near the Khanauri border separating Punjab and Haryana.

The exact cause of Shubhkaran's death is not known yet.

The farmers had marched towards Delhi over several demands, including a law to guarantee a minimum support price (MSP) for their crops, pension benefits and crop insurance. MSP is a price fixed by the government and is aimed at protecting farmers from distress sale of their produce.

Determined to not let the farmers proceed to the national capital, the Haryana Police had fortified its borders with Punjab. The cops fired tear gas shells to keep the farmers off.

Farmers had alleged rubber bullets were also used during the clashes. The police, on their part, had said multiple policemen were injured after protesters threw stones and sticks.