SC gives Punjab govt time till Dec 31 to shift fasting farmer leader Dallewal to hospital
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court on Saturday gave the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been fasting for over a month, to shift to hospital.
In an unprecedented hearing, a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan pulled up the Punjab government for allowing the situation to escalate and not complying with its earlier directions to provide medical assistance to Dallewal.
Expressing helplessness, the Punjab government said it is facing huge resistance from protesting farmers who have encircled Dallewal and are preventing him from being taken to hospital.
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the bench that a team of experts visited the protest site and tried to persuade Dallewal to shift to hospital and take medical help.
"He (Dallewal) has refused any kind of medical aid, including (IV) drips, saying that it will undermine the cause of movement," he said.
This infuriated the bench which blamed the Punjab government for not doing enough to contain the situation and said the farmer leaders who are not allowing Dallewal to be taken to the hospital are involved in the criminal offence of abetment to suicide.
The top court allowed the Punjab government to seek any kind of logistics support from the Centre if the situation warrants, and hoped that the state government would comply with its direction of shifting Dallewal to hospital.
The bench said Dallewal is under some kind of "peer pressure" and those farmer leaders who are not allowing him to be shifted to a hospital do not seem to be his well-wishers.
"Are they interested in his life or something else? We don't want to say much and only hope that the Punjab government will comply with our directions," the bench said.
On Friday, the top court expressed concern over the condition of Dallewal and directed the Punjab government to ensure he is given medical assistance.
It had issued a notice to the Punjab government on a contempt petition against its chief secretary and the director general of police (DGP) for non-compliance of an order directing that medical aid be provided to Dallewal.
Dallewal has been on an indefinite fast at the Khanauri border since November 26 to press the Centre to accept farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.
On December 20, the apex court left it to Punjab government officials and doctors to decide on Dallewal's hospitalisation.
The court said Dallewal, 70, could be moved to the makeshift hospital set up within 700 metres of the protest site at Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana.
On December 19, the bench referred to civil rights activist Irom Sharmila continuing her protest for more than a decade under medical supervision and asked the Punjab government to convince Dallewal for an examination.
It had pulled up the state for not running medical tests on Dallewal.
Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by the security forces.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
