PIL seeking removal of unnecessary barricading from roads in Delhi, HC issues notice
Oct 27, 2021
New Delhi [India], October 27 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi Police and others on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) stating unnecessary installation of iron barricades on several roads all over the national capital causing grave hardship and inconvenience to the safety, security and welfare of the public.
Many times installation of chained barricades on the roads have been proved to be fatal, the plea stated.
The Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on Wednesday sought the response from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police and put up the matter for December 24 for further hearing.
The Petitioner, Jan Sewa Welfare Society through Advocates Birendra Bikram and Bankey Bihari seeking direction to the Delhi Police for strict compliance of its own standing order regarding procurement, maintenance and operational usage of mobile barricades for removal of unnecessary and Hazardous barricading from roads all over Delhi causing grave inconvenience to citizens and for safety and welfare of the public at large.
The plea stated that the standing order stipulates that mobile barricades are important and effective tools to maintain law and order, control crowd, regulate the flow of vehicular traffic ensure security checking at VVIP functions and also check crime and apprehend criminals. But of late, it has been observed that the utilisation of mobile barricades is being used in a haphazard manner and stolen and a few displaying names of police stations are found in the jurisdiction of another police station.
Plea added that a number of barricades, sometimes, also display the names of private sponsorers and some of them are ill-maintained and not properly painted. Most significantly, mobile barricades are being left unmanned on roads which cause traffic problems apart from projecting a poor image of the Police. There have been instances where motorists, especially two-wheeler riders have collided with these barricades during night hours resulting in injury.
The petition alleged that the reckless and unmindful installation of barricades on roads is still a grave safety threat to motorists and the general public.
Unless concrete steps are taken to install and maintain the barricades as per the standing order, the barricades are bound to cause fatal injuries to the motorists and the general public while using roads throughout Delhi, plea read.
