SC says tractor rally law and order issue, expects govt to regulate tractor rally on Republic Day

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday firmly placed the onus of dealing with the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day by farmers protesting the farm laws on Delhi police. While doing so, a three-judge bench led by CJI S.A. Bobde suggested that it was up to Delhi police to decide who will enter Delhi and in what numbers. This seems to suggest that the court wants the government to regulate and not ban the tractors’ rally, a suggestion that may pose an additional headache for Delhi police.Delhi police had sought court intervention to stop the tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day. The government had said that this was necessary to ensure that the dignity of the Republic Day parade was maintained. It had also claimed that the entry of thousands into the city would pose a security problem.

The CJI led bench, however, refused to deal with these issues today. The bench said that it would deal with the issues on Wednesday. “Does the central government have to be told that it has enough policing powers,” the bench sought to know.Law and order issues were strictly in the domain of the executive, it said.Police have to decide who to allow entry into Delhi and in what numbers, the court said, drawing its attention to the contours of its powers.The executive must first act and then the courts and not the other way around, the court suggested. The bench was responding to Attorney general K.K. Venugopal’s remarks that the proposed tractors rally represents a security threat. It is wholly illegal and some 5000 tractors may enter Delhi, the AG said. The SG urged the bench to ensure the dignity of a constitutional ceremony but the bench did not accept his arguments. “Where does the constitution say Republic Day?” The CJI asked adjourning the case at the SG’s insistence to allow him to present more material to the court on the issue.