SC no to PIL on suicides by farmers

New Delhi, February 8

The Supreme Court today declined to entertain a PIL raising the issue of farmers’ suicide in the country and seeking direction for the Centre to implement the recommendation of an expert body to fix minimum support price (MSP) for all agricultural products.

“We are not suppose to go into the policy matters. It is for the government to see and take decision,” a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A K Sikri and R Banumathi said.

The bench said the PIL petitioner has to go before an appropriate authority and make representation. “These are matters which are between people and the government,” the bench observed while wondering at the outset as to “what are we suppose to do for farmers’ suicide. ...What is government suppose to do?”

Realising that the bench was not inclined to issue any direction, advocate P V Yogeshwaram, appearing for scientist S Sunderesan, preferred to withdraw the PIL in which directions were sought for implementation of recommendations of National Commission of Farmers (NCF).

The Commission headed by noted agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan had in 2006 come out with a report dealing with several issues including that of farmers’ suicide and had proposed slew of measures to check it.

The Commission had suggested that there was a need to improve implementation of Minimum Support Price(MSP) and arrangements to be put in place for crops, other than paddy and wheat. — PTI