Carrying out periodic checks to ensure no barricade remains unmanned: Delhi Police to HC

The official submitted the police shall also make “all possible endeavours to keep all barricades manned throughout Delhi”. Considering these submissions, the High Court said no further orders were required and disposed of the suo motu plea.

The Delhi Police filed a status report on January 6 which stated that disciplinary action in 51 cases has been initiated against the concerned staff or station house officer where violation of directions of the Standing Order has been found. The report added barricades have been put up at 773 locations by the Delhi Police, out of which 714 are manned by their staff and barricades at 59 locations or colonies are being manned by the staff of the respective Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs).

The report also states the police’s night patrolling staff has been instructed to check for unmanned barricades in their area. “The Night Checking Officers also check all the barricades placed in the area and if any unmanned barricade is found, information is required to be immediately forwarded to the District Control Room and also to the concerned SHO. The night patrolling staff has also been directed to inform the SHOs about it so that the unmanned barricades are immediately removed,” the report submits.

The status report was filed after the High Court on November 14 asked the Delhi Police to show the number of barricades put up by each police station in the city, the number of barricades manned by police staff, and those manned by RWAs.

The Delhi Police had earlier told the court that a previous standing order of 2021 in relation to the procurement, maintenance, operation, and usage of mobile barricades has been superseded and a new revised standing order was issued in March 2022.

On November 14, 2022, the High Court had remarked that despite an undertaking given by the Delhi Police that there will be compliance with the revised standing order issued by the police, unmanned barricades were still found at various spots in the city. The court also said even for “security purposes” barricades cannot remain unmanned. The Delhi Police had told the High Court in September last year that people can report on 112 or tag the traffic police @dtptraffic on Twitter if they find any unmanned barricades on roads in the national capital.

The High Court had registered the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on its own based on a letter written in December 2021 by one O P Goyal to the prime minister. Goyal is stated to be the President of Delhi Pradeshik Agarwal Sammelan. In the letter, he raised grievances with regard to the setting up of unmanned barricades in Kalkaji, Govind Puri, and CR Park Police station areas, saying they same disrupt the free flow of traffic and causes harassment to the public.