Hot Drinks & Hot Topics: Constitutional Validity of Farm Laws in India

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; and, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were passed by the Indian Parliament in September, 2020 and came to be known as the “farm laws”. These laws were passed by violating the pre-legislative and legislative processes which is a testament to the fact that the central government has encroached upon the powers of state governments and has systematically been weakening federal structure of Constitutional democracy in India. The passing of Farm laws have caused quite a stir in the political life and it has given a new life to the farmer’s movement in India. The discourse around insurgent nature of the farmer’s movement and state’s counter-insurgency tactics has been taking place in abundance. But, the Constitutional opposition to these farm laws has hardly been discussed in details. Therefore, this discussion will be focused on the Constitutional validity of farm laws in India and the implications of its “class-character” on small and marginal peasants, Adivasis (Indigenous communities) and agricultural labourers (mostly working class Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims). The discussion will also help place the farm laws in a universe of deregulation laws in the field of labour, environment and mining laws that have been legislated during the COVID-19 induced pandemic to enable “ease of doing business”.