Delhi govt’s order to wear mask in car alone absurd: HC

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh questioned as to how such an order, passed by the state government in November last year, is still prevailing.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday said the state government’s order making it mandatory to wear mask in a car even when a person is alone was “absurd”, and asked why it was still in force.

The matter would be now heard on April 4.

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh questioned as to how such an order, passed by the state government in November last year, is still prevailing. “Mr Satyakam (counsel for Delhi govt), please take instructions…Why is this order prevailing? It is absurd actually that people sitting in their own cars should wear masks..,” justice Sanghi said.

The court’s order came after senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, told the court that despite a significant drop in the number of Covid-19 cases, people are being fined for not wearing masks in their own cars when alone or when they are with their family members.

He informed the court that the order was issued by the government initially with a fine of ₹500. However, a single judge bench dismissed a challenge to the order saying a car is a public place and wearing of masks is necessary even when a person is alone in the vehicle. The fine was later hiked to ₹2,000

Narrating an incident of Monday, Mehra said that he was tagged on a social media post where a woman, who was travelling with her mother in a car, was fined when they pulled down their masks to have coffee with the windows rolled up.

“Situation has dramatically changed on the ground…We are staying in our house. There we are ok. The moment that we step out, the scenario changes and someone gets the licence of taking ₹2,000 fine from me…That order needs to re-visited,” Mehra argued.

When the court countered Mehra and said that it is a Delhi government order, and they cannot do anything till the time it is challenged, the latter said, “Be it a Delhi government order or the Central government, it is a wrong order”.

Mehra said that rather than asking the government, which would take months and years to decide, the courts can take a decision in seconds.

“Everyday Delhi government orders are being struck down, what is so special about this,” Mehra contended.

While asking the city government to look into this order, the bench also ordered the Delhi government to re-look into all the orders passed by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and issue fresh orders in light of the changed situation.

“In light of the changed situation, the DDMA should also look at the several orders passed by it in relation to covid restrictions. We hope and expect the DDMA look into all aspects and to issue fresh orders premised on medical opinion,” the bench noted in its oral order.

In April, 2021, a single judge bench had held that it is compulsory for people to wear a mask in a private vehicle even if they are driving alone, while holding that a private vehicle on the roads is also a “public place”.

The ruling had come on a bunch of four petitions which had challenged the levy of fine of ₹500 for not wearing mask even when alone in the car. The fine was later hiked to ₹2000.

On Tuesday, the discussion started while hearing a bunch of pleas, including one by lawyer-petitioner Rakesh Malhotra, seeking better facilities in the city hospitals for the covid-19 patients.

During the hearing, the court was informed by Mehra that pursuant to a cabinet decision, Ms NEC Corporation Limited has been engaged to develop a health information management system for the city. In a status report, the government has said that the company has started the development of the modules required by different hospitals to provide an end to end solution to all information related to health institutions.

The court suggested the Delhi government to explore the possibility of a mobile phone application so that users can access information through the application with regards to the availability of nearby hospitals, the specialty that they are offering along with the availability position.

“Other medical related services like booking an ambulance should be possible through the same application,” the court added.

Mehra assured the court that the city government would look into this aspect and explore the feasibility.

The matter would be now heard on April 4.