Catering vans’ row: HC seeks reply from police

The Delhi high court on Tuesday sought an explanation from the Delhi Police over the confusion in granting licence and parking space for catering vans in the Capital.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday sought an explanation from the Delhi Police over the confusion in granting licence and parking space for catering vans in the Capital.

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Justice Hima Kohli wanted to know if catering van owners indeed needed an NOC from civic agencies, once they obtained clearance from the traffic police. She has summoned the joint commissioner of police concerned on February 3 after the Delhi Police lawyer apprised the court that he had received no instruction in the matter.

The court had on Monday asked the DDA and MCD to come up with a policy for licensing and parking of mobile catering vans in Delhi.

The matter reached the court through a batch of petitions filed by owners of such vans that were once stationed in markets in Dwarka sectors 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 12, but were ordered by the MCD, DDA and Delhi Police to shift as they caused traffic congestion. Manjit Singh Ahluwalia, lawyer appearing for the van owners, accused the civic bodies of not drafting a policy despite repeated court direction.