Collected ₹27+ cr in fines for Covid norm violations: Delhi cops

In a bid to enforce Covid protocols in the national capital, the city police has collected over ₹27 crore in fines between April 19 and June 20 this year, with over 900,000 challans issued for the violations, the Delhi high court was informed

In a bid to enforce Covid protocols in the national capital, the city police has collected over ₹27 crore in fines between April 19 and June 20 this year, with over 900,000 challans issued for the violations, the Delhi high court was informed.

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In a status report filed before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh on Friday, the Delhi Police said it has issued 121,230 fines for not wearing face masks in public, and 20,493 fines for flouting distancing norms.

The police have also said that 11,144 FIRs have been registered and 10,209 people been arrested in the two-month period.

The police said it issued a total of 908,243 fines for various violations of Covid-appropriate protocol as put in place by state authorities.

The Delhi government, in a separate report, also submitted on Friday, has told the court that it has issued over 580,000 fines till June 30, with the most being handed out in north Delhi district. The fewest fines were issued in south district with 22,208.

Giving a district wise breakup of the challans, the state government told the court that it has taken several measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the city, including issuing notices and shutting down various markets after overcrowding.

The reports were filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) initiated last month by the high court after it took note of photographs sent to one of the high court judges on WhatsApp by a doctor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that showed Covid-19 protocol violations by street vendors in the city.

In response, the court sought status reports from the authorities on steps being taken to control the spread of pandemic while observing that such breaches would only hasten the arrival of a third wave of the infection.

The Delhi government, in the report filed through additional standing counsel Gautam Narayan, informed the court that it issued a show cause notice to Vegas Mall in Dwarka on July 4 after it failed to adhere to the 50% seating capacity limit in restaurants at their food court. The government said the food court was ordered to stay shut from 7pm on July 4 to 11pm on July 5.

Similarly, the Hauz Khas sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) on July 4 ordered the closure of the food court at Select City Mall in Saket, due to violation of seating capacity norms, as laid out by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). The food court was shut for that day (july 4), the government said.

The matter was listed for Friday but could not be taken up due to a shortage of time, and will now be heard in August.