NEW DELHI: A petition was been filed before the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to set up statutory commissions for framers at the national and the state levels to safeguard the fundamental and legal rights of tillers and the farm community in the country.
The petition sought a direction to the Centre and all the states to implement report of National Commission on Farmers (NCF) constituted under the Chairmanship of Professor M S Swaminathan.
The petition filed by advocate Shiv Kumar Tripathi clamied that farmers and farm community in India "has been denied social, economic and political justice."
"They have been denied equality of status and of opportunity and self dignity has taken the back seat."
"More and more farmers are compelled to end their life by committing suicide," the petition filed through advocate Kamal Mohan Gupta said.
The petition said that about 15 years have lapsed since the filing of the Report by the NCF, but no concrete step has been taken by the successive governments to set up a permanent statutory body at national and state level.
"Farmers in the country continue to suffer and commit suicide."
Since there is no one to look into the grievances of the farmers, they are compelled to agitate on roads by staging dharna, rallies etc. or to put an end to their lives.
"That there is an urgent need of setting up a statutory body for farmers at national and state level," it said.