Delhi

'Covid rules vital in festive time': Delhi High Court

Express News Service

NEW DELHI:  High Court on Monday told the authorities here that guidelines and protocols set for Covid-appropriate behaviour and controlling of the crowd in marketplaces must be followed scrupulously in this festive season. The high court’s order came while hearing a PIL initiated on its own on violation of COVID-19 protocols in various markets in the national capital.

The high court said it does not want to see penalties being collected from people for violation of COVID-19 norms but wants that the crowd is being managed by the authorities. ‘We expect from the respondents (Centre, Delhi government and Delhi Police) that these guidelines, Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), Covid-appropriate behaviour, and controlling of the crowd at market places will be executed by them scrupulously in this festive season,’ a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said.

All the steps mentioned by the authorities in their status reports must be taken and a further report is filed by them before the next date of hearing on November 30, the bench said. ‘Your guidelines, SoP, and protocol must be followed scrupulously. This is festival season. Strict compliance is required,’ the bench told the counsel for both the governments. The court said it was keeping the matter pending as it wants to see how the authorities are controlling the situation.

The court noted that in the status reports, the authorities mentioned the steps taken by them and how to control the crowd at marketplaces and for engagement of volunteers for implementation of guidelines and sanitisation of public utilities.

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