The Punjab and Haryana High Court has been pulled into the eye of a brewing storm after a habeas corpus plea alleged the illegal detention of Jagjit Singh Dallewal — the face of ongoing farmer protests and a man currently on an indefinite hunger strike demanding Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantees, loan waivers, and broader reforms for farmers.
Dallewal, a prominent figure from the Joint Forum Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), had just emerged from a dialogue with a central government delegation on March 19 when, according to the plea, he vanished from public view. Filed by one Gurmukh Singh, the petition claims that the convoy carrying Dallewal and fellow activists Sarwan Singh Pandher and Manjit Singh Rai was intercepted near Jagatpur in Mohali. There, Punjab Police allegedly detained them without warning or explanation — a move that sparked clashes between protesters and police forces.
Justice Manisha Batra, addressing the urgency of the petition received late Friday evening, issued a notice to the Punjab government and state police, seeking a response. The State’s legal representative requested more time to file a status report, and the next hearing has been set for March 24.
The petition paints a darker picture beyond Dallewal’s disappearance. It accuses Punjab Police of tearing down protest camps at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders — an act the plea claims defies a Supreme Court directive to maintain status quo. It further alleges that more than 300 farmers have gone missing since the police action.
Despite these broader claims, the petition narrowly focuses on securing Dallewal’s immediate release — a man whose hunger strike has become symbolic of a wider movement, and whose sudden disappearance raises troubling questions.
For now, the courtroom becomes the next battleground.
