NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Central government to consider a public interest litigation seeking mandatory live streaming of cooking at restaurants as a representation for drafting rules for reopening of eating joints for take-away and home delivery service following lockdown relaxation.
The petition filed by a resident of Chittaranjan Park Trishna Mahajan. The petition further sought directions for Installation of CCTV cameras in the kitchen and food preparation and keeping a record of activities by employees and staff of the establishment for at least six months to enable the health inspector to scrutinise compliance to government guidelines to prevent spreading of COVID-19.
“That if the guidelines are not followed, there is a potential risk of mass-infection,” contended the petitioner, who was represented by advocates Namita Roy and Abhijit Acharya. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, said that while deciding the representation the concerned authorities shall keep in mind the suggestions made by the petitioner.
“This petition is directed to be treated as representation and the same be considered in accordance with law, rules, regulations and Governmental policies applicable to the facts of the case,” said the court.
On May 18, the Centre extended the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus, however, allowed reopening of restaurants and markets with certain conditions.
“The suggestion made in the petition, with regard to the installation of CCTV cameras in kitchen/food processing area is concerned, that could assist the Food Inspectors in monitoring and ensuring the infection-free preparation of food in consonance with the set guidelines, shall be kept in mind by the concerned authorities while considering the said representation,” said the order.