Actively Considering Night Curfew, But No Decision Taken Yet: Delhi Govt Tells Delhi HC

The information was provided to the Division Bench of Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Subramonium Prasad in a plea seeking to ramp up testing facilities for COVID19 in Delhi.

Today, the Central Government informed the court that as per the Ministry of Home Affairs latest advisory, State Governments and UTs are free to impose restrictions such as night curfews after making their own assessment.

However, Mr Anurag Ahluwalia, who was appearing for the Central Government, further submitted that no State can impose lockdown outside the containment zone without the prior approval of the Central Government.

On the issue of testing, the Delhi Government's counsel Mr Satyakam submitted that around 40,000 samples through RT-PCR testing kits were collected yesterday.

'We're very proud of these numbers and we hope to continue this trend', Mr Satyakam submitted.

The court, however, responded by saying that this development of 40,000 RT-PCR samples has come at a cost many lives, and due to the constant pushing and prodding the court.

Subsequently, the court took up the issue of enforcing COVID advisories on ground. The court said that there's a need for a protocol to be established to engage market associations and Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) for better implementation of COVID directions on ground.

'The message needs to go out that it is mandatory to wear masks and practise COVID etiquettes', the court said.

The court also directed the Delhi Government to submit a status report on how the money collected through fines imposed for violating COVID norms are being utilised. The court said:

'Please show us how the money collected through fines are being utilised. You must explore the option of online payment of these fines. This money can be used for strengthening your strategy of curbing the spread of the virus.'

On COVID management, the court asked the Delhi Government to ensure that the advisory on capping the maximum attendance for weddings is strictly enforced.

'Wedding season is in full swing, you should come up with a protocol, conduct random checks, to ensure better enforcement', the court said.