In a scathing directive amid the incessant protests of farmers, the Supreme Court had on Monday issued a stern warning to the Central government by vowing that the top judicial body would put the farm laws on hold if it fails to give a proper response. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had expressed its disapproval that the Center had brought the laws without proper consultation. 

The court has observed that it has no petition in favor of the laws and flayed the Center's hostile response to the farmers' protests. The apex court bench was hearing dozens of pleas that were moved to challenge the three controversial farm reforms and when the hearing came on Monday, the court had expressed that it doesn't know whether the Center is part of the solution or part of the problem. 

The hearing has come when the eighth round of negotiations between the farmers and the Center to mitigate the protests had failed with deadlock continues.  The Chief Justice told the government to disclose its response to the Supreme Court if it is prepared to put the laws on hold or else the court will be forced to put the laws on hold. In a warning note, the Supreme Court said, "put laws on hold, or we will". It has also sounded in favor of installing a committee to attain an amicable resolution and asked the government to give a clear response.

Voicing against the Center's bid to seek a directive to end the protests, the court said that it won't pass any instructions against protesters. By citing the obvious as the situation is very delicate, the judicial body said that it's not asking to repeal the farm laws at this moment and rather it said that its intention was to see a negotiated solution, but there has been no response from the Center on its willingness to put the farm laws on hold. 

The apex court had said that it is extremely disappointed with the way the talks are getting unfolded between the government and farmers. The court has also refused to pass an order banning the farmers' rally. The protesting farmers' had decided to hold a tractor rally on January 26, during Republic Day to intensify their agitation against the Center to repeal the farm laws. When the Center had sought the court's directive on Monday to stop the tractor rally, the apex court said that it will not decide who will enter and exit Delhi. 

The court said to the Attorney General that it doesn't believe that the government has handled the situation properly. According to reports, the eighth round of talks had added to the list of the flopped episodes of talks after it failed to attain the resolution in ending the protests. After the talks, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said no decision could be reached as the farmer leaders didn't present alternatives to their demand for repealing the laws. 

Thousands of farmers from across the country particularly from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh had gathered in Delhi and they have been protesting against the Center with their sole motive of repealing the farm laws. Their protests are going to hit two straight months as the peasants had camped their livelihoods in the national capital and they had vowed that they won't back off until the government repeals the farm laws, which they fear as that these laws would dismantle the grounds of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and would pump in private players into the agricultural sector.