The Delhi High Court on Friday took suo motu cognizance of violation of Covid-19 protocols by street vendors in the market places. The bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Asha Menon sought response from the Central government, the Delhi government and the Delhi Police Commissioner.
The bench remarked, “The memory of the second wave of Covid-19 has not yet disappeared, with many people having suffered personal loss in the same. The experts are in fact warning of a third wave. Such breach of Covid-19 Protocol may only escalate and probably hasten the outbreak of the third wave of Covid19 and this cannot be permitted under any circumstances.”
The move came in light of one of the judge of the Delhi High Court receiving certain photographs, clicked by a doctor from AIIMS, over WhatsApp showing scant regard to the Covid-19 protocol being followed in the markets by street vendors.
The bench asked the Centre and the Delhi Government to take strict measures and to sensitise the shopkeepers, and was assured by Chetan Sharma, Ld. Additional Solicitor General for the Centre, as also by the Delhi Government that strict measures are already been taken for ensuring that the proper Covid-19 protocols are maintained at market places as also by the street vendors.
Subsequent thereto, the court asked the government to take certain more measures, and in this regard, suggested- “more interaction and more active role being assigned to the Market Association(s), Street Vendor Association(s) and the Weekly Market Association(s), to ensure that the shopkeepers/vendors/their staff and customers maintain the desired and mandated Covid protocol.”
Read Also: Allahabad HC rejects live-in couple’s plea for protection
The court, while being critical of the memory of the Covid second wave emphasized on the requirement of more active presence of civil defence personnel or police personnel in the market places, including the weekly and hawker places, and directed for proper sanitization of public facilities, if not already done.
The matter will now be taken up on 9th July, 2021.