The Delhi High Court on Monday directed authorities to treat as representation a petition seeking regulation of powers delegated to civil defence volunteers for ensuring compliance with COVID-19 norms in Delhi.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the authorities take a decision on the plea in accordance with law, rules, regulations and government policy.
The petition by advocate Amrita Dhawan claimed that civil defence volunteers were “misusing” the “unbridled” powers given to them under the Delhi Epidemic Diseases (Management of COVID-19) Regulations 2020. Her plea also sought direction to prevent the civil defence volunteer from wearing uniforms similar to that of the police.
Her plea contended that the Delhi government and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) have taken no action despite being aware of misuse of powers by the volunteers, who have collected fines of over ₹2.5 crore on account of COVID-19 norms being flouted.
During the hearing, the High Court asked Ms. Dhawan’s counsel if there was any law prohibiting private persons from wearing khaki.
Advocate Arpit Bhargava, appearing for Ms. Dhawan, said there was no law prohibiting it, but such activity could affect the credibility of the police.
Following this, the High Court said it was not going to entertain the plea, saying if there were individual instances of violation, then they can be brought to the court’s notice.
