The Supreme Court has declined to grant a stay of the judicial probe into the murder of Shubhkaran Singh

Shubhkaran Singh, 21, was killed during a farmers’ protest on the Punjab-Haryana border in February. The Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered a judicial investigation into his murder, and the Supreme Court declined to postpone that decision on Monday.

A panel led by a retired judge would supervise the investigation, according to a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, instilling trust in its impartiality and openness.

The high court’s March 7 decision to establish a committee led by a retired high court judge to investigate Shubhkaran Singh’s murder after a fight between protesting farmers and police officers has been contested by the Haryana government.

The protesting farmers attempted to head towards barricades, but security personnel stopped them from crossing the state border and marching towards Delhi. On February 21, Shubhkaran, a resident of Bathinda, was killed and several police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border.

On behalf of the Haryana government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the high court ruling will demoralize the police force.

“How will the police uphold law and order if they have to defend every incident with a PIL?” Mehta pondered.

According to the Solicitor General, 67 police officers were hurt in the event, and hundreds of individuals had congregated there brandishing deadly weapons. He said that if committees were to be constituted, it would be detrimental to the morale of law enforcement personnel.

The Bench noted that miscreants can take unfair advantage of situations during public protest and said that the high court was worried about the homicidal killing and that the deceased’s family had voiced some concerns.

Mehta was pressing the top court to name an officer and oversee the case’s inquiry when the Bench said that the subject will be revisited on April 10.