Farmers' protest: SC expresses displeasure over repeated requests for allowing Salve to argue

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that Salve can join the proceedings on Thursday when the pleas would be heard again.
Senior advocate Harish Salve (Photo | EPS)
Senior advocate Harish Salve (Photo | EPS)

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday expressed displeasure over repeated requests that senior lawyer Harish Salve be unmuted and allowed to raise some "legal issue" during the hearing of pleas seeking removal of protesting farmers camping at borders of the national capital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that Salve can join the proceedings on Thursday when the pleas would be heard again.

The issue came to fore when Mehta told the bench that he has received message from Salve that he be unmuted to join the proceedings  "I have received a message from Mr Harish Salve and he is requesting to be unmuted," the law officer told the bench which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

"The court master is telling us that no AoR (advocate-on-record) has told him that Mr Salve is appearing in these matters which are listed today," the bench observed.

On being told again about the request, the bench said that it be allowed to go ahead with the matter and Salve will be heard tomorrow.

At the fag end of the hearing when Mehta once again said that Salve wanted to raise some legal issue and he was only communicating it to the court, the bench shot back "don't act as a communicator, you are the Solicitor General of India."

The top court, while issuing notices to the Centre on the pleas, indicated that it may form a committee having representatives of the government and the farmer unions to resolve the deadlock over farmers protesting at several roads near Delhi borders against the three new Farm laws.

Multiple pleas have been filed in the SC seeking a direction to authorities to immediately remove the farmers, saying commuters are facing hardships due to the road blockades and the gatherings might lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

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