Police told the court that an earlier standing order of 2021 in relation to the procurement, maintenance, operation and usage of mobile barricades has been superseded and a new revised standing order was issued in March 2022.(Express Archive)The Delhi Police Monday told the High Court that people can report on 112 or tag the traffic police @dtptraffic on Twitter if they find any unmanned barricades on roads in the national capital. The court had last month pulled up police for blocking the roads during rush hours.
The division bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal said the liberty available to the public appears to be a welcome step to keep a check on the unmanned barricades. However, the court enquired about the decision to allow residential welfare associations to put barricades inside the colonies where there are no gates and asked whether any pilot study has been done.
“As we pointed out in case there is an emergency at night, the gate is closed and it can be opened by watch and ward but the barricades cannot be,” said the court, adding the way the barricades are interlocked, nobody can open them.
Police told the court that an earlier standing order of 2021 in relation to the procurement, maintenance, operation and usage of mobile barricades has been superseded and a new revised standing order was issued in March 2022.
The bench was also informed that it has been instructed that no barricades should be put up at peak traffic hours unless there is a specific input or information regarding law and order or crime detection. The same will be done with the permission of the senior officer at the level of the DCP concerned, the court was informed.
With regard to the barricades put up by RWAs during night hours on roads of their colonies, police told the court it proposes to take measures to streamline the process. The counsel representing the state told the court that no pilot project study has been made so far and only after a study is made, necessary directions in this regard will be issued.
The division bench granted eight weeks time to the authorities to prepare guidelines in relation to the barricades in RWA areas and listed the matter for hearing on November 14.
The HC in February had taken suo motu note of the presence of unmanned barricades on roads in Delhi and asked the Delhi Police to place on record the protocol that they follow in relation to setting up of barricades in the city.
It had registered the Public Interest Litigation on its own based on a letter written in December 2021 by OP Goyal to the Prime Minister. Goyal is stated to be the President of Delhi Pradeshik Agarwal Sammelan. In the letter, he raised grievances with regard to the setting up of unmanned barricades in Kalkaji, Govind Puri and CR Park Police station areas, saying that the same disrupts the free flow of traffic and cause harassment to the public.