Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a prominent farmers’ leader, has been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, debt waivers, and other relief measures for farmers.
Punjab: A Habeas Corpus petition has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court over the alleged illegal detention of farmers’ leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal. The petition, submitted by Gurmukh Singh, claims that Dallewal was taken into custody unlawfully by the Punjab Police.
On Friday, Justice Manisha Batra issued a notice to the Punjab government and State Police regarding the matter. The petition was filed late in the evening, and the Court acknowledged the urgency of the case.
“This petition has been received at 6:45 pm making prayer for issuance of a writ in the nature of habeas corpus for release of detenue Jagjit Singh Dallewal who is the farmer leader of Joint Forum Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) who is in illegal custody of the respondents,”
the Court stated in its order.
Senior Deputy Advocate General Ruchika Sabherwal, representing the Punjab government, requested time to submit a status report.
The case will be heard again on March 24.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a prominent farmers’ leader, has been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, debt waivers, and other relief measures for farmers.
According to the petition, Dallewal participated in talks with a Central government delegation on March 19 regarding the farmers’ demands. However, he was detained soon after the meeting.
The petition states that while Dallewal and other farmer leaders were returning to their protest sites at the Shambu and Kahnauri borders, Punjab Police intercepted their convoy near Jagatpur in Mohali.
“After the meeting, while returning to the protest sites at the Shambu and Kahnauri borders, the detenue convoy was intercepted by Punjab Police near the Jagatpur area in Mohali. The detenue, along with Sarwan Singh Pandher and Manjit Singh Rai and other leaders, was detained without prior notice or explanation, leading to clashes between farmers and the police,” the petition informed the Court.
The plea further alleges that Punjab Police dismantled the protest sites, violating the Supreme Court’s order for status quo. It also claims that over 300 farmers are missing following the crackdown.
However, the petition specifically demands only the production and release of Dallewal and does not seek action regarding other detained farmers.
Advocates Gurmohan Preet Singh, Angrej Singh, and Kanwarjit Singh represented petitioner Gurmukh Singh in the High Court.
