Unmanned barricades on roads cause harassment to public, says Delhi HC; asks police to submit protocol

Unmanned barricades on roads serve no purpose and cause harassment to public, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday and asked Delhi Police to submit the protocol followed by it for placing barricades in the city.

The high court took suo motu cognisance of a letter written to the Prime Minister which was in turn sent to the Delhi High Court for taking action against placement of unmanned barricades on several roads in south Delhi area.

The issue raised by Om Prakash Goel (who wrote the letter) requires consideration since these unmanned barricades on roads prima facie serve no purpose and indeed cause inconvenience and harassment to public at large. Such barricades also have been used to set up kiosks and for parking vehicles, said a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh.

The court issued notices to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Delhi government, the Centre, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, and South Delhi Municipal Corporation through its Commissioner and listed the matter for further hearing on April 13.

The respondents (authorities) shall file their respective status reports before the next date of hearing. Delhi Police shall place on record the protocol that they follow in relation to setting up of barricades in the city, if any, the bench said.

A PIL was registered by the court while taking cognisance of the December 10, 2021 letter by Goel, who claims to be the President of Delhi Pradeshik Aggarwal Sammelan, to the Prime Minister which has in turn been sent to the court.

He raised grievances relating to setting up of unmanned barricades in Kalkaji and CR Park police station areas in south Delhi and circulated several media reports on the issue.

His grievance is that these barricades serve no purpose and lead to blockades of free flow of traffic, causing misery and harassment to vehicle owners and general public and leading to long traffic jams and hold ups.