The Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to dismiss the petition filed against the illegal detention of farmers, who are protesting on the borders of Delhi for their demands.
The Single Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri has said that even though the government has released the farmers, it is yet to be decided how legitimate the custody of the farmers was.
The protests by the farmers from Punjab and Haryana against the three agricultural laws and the detention of farmers by Haryana Police who were moved moving to Delhi were challenged in the High Court . The petition claimed that the detention of farmers by the police directly falls within the definition of illegal detention.
On the last hearing, the High Court had strongly reprimanded the Haryana government for charging a hefty bail amount for release of farmers.
During the hearing in the High Court on Tuesday, the Haryana Government said that all the farmers taken into custody have been released and in such a case, the petition should be dismissed as it has no legal validity. The High Court said that it had not yet been decided how valid the decision to detain the farmers was and it was necessary to hear this petition to decide this point.
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Yardi Haryana Progressive Farmers Organisation lawyer Pradeep Rapadia said the government arbitrarily detained the farmers. Some were described as criminals and treated very badly while no case was filed against them. Now the High Court adjourned the hearing giving the Haryana government a chance to clarify its action till December 18.