The Uttar Pradesh government’s latest attempts to intimidate farmers of western Uttar Pradesh have been temporarily halted by the intervention of the Allahabad High Court. In a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by the social activist and independent researcher Arundhati Dhuru, the Lucknow Bench of the High Court pulled up the State authorities and asked them to explain “under what circumstances” the sub divisional magistrates (SDMs) had issued notices to farmers with tractors and asked them to furnish “exorbitant amount of personal bond and two sureties”.During January 19-22 this year, thousands of farmers across various districts of Uttar Pradesh were served notices by the respective SDMs under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedural Code (CrPC), stating that they