'Traffic authorities are best judges to decide regulation issue in city'
While dismissing the PIL by Mamta Rani, 39, who is a practising lawyer at the apex court, the bench said that traffic authorities are the best judge to decide the issue of regulation of traffic in the city.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has taken judicial notice of the significant rise in road traffic within the city in recent years, as well as the growing number of cars parked on the roads in front of the court premises and adjacent lanes, leading to traffic congestion.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in regarding the "blockade" in front of the Supreme Court by Delhi Police.
While dismissing the PIL by Mamta Rani, 39, who is a practising lawyer at the apex court, the bench said that traffic authorities are the best judge to decide the issue of regulation of traffic in the city.
The petitioner had alleged that the advocates and even common motorists going to the high court and the top court are facing huge inconvenience and losing precious time, due to blockade at different crossings on Mathura Road including the roundabout at the corner of Krishi Bhawan and Rail Bhawan from Raisina Road from Janpath.
The court said: ''Traffic control is the sole domain of the traffic police. It is well settled that courts do not run the country and it is up to the administration to take decisions for smooth functioning of the government."
''The traffic authorities are the best judges to decide the issue of regulation of traffic in the city and this court, while exercising its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is not inclined to sit over as an appellate authority over the decisions taken by the traffic authorities for regulating the movement of traffic in the city. In view of the above, this court is not inclined to entertain the instant PIL. Resultantly, the PIL is dismissed,'' the court said.
Appearing for the Delhi government, standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi and lawyer Arun Panwar submitted before the court that for the first time, the stretch has become signal and congestion-free and it is a permanent arrangement now.
The PIL, which was filed in May, had said that since December 2022, the different crossings at Mathura Road were blocked, preventing right turns while coming from an additional building of the top court towards either the main building of the Supreme Court or towards the high court.
Due to this, advocates have to drive for more than five km, against just 300 metres to 400 metres for going from the additional building of the top court to the main building of the top court, and this is not only arbitrary but also a waste of precious time of advocates appearing in the courts.
It had claimed that this blockade by Delhi Police is also against the environment as it is causing more carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere.
"The petitioner and other advocates approached the officials of Delhi Police and especially the traffic police personnel deputed in the area about the time period for which this blockade will continue, but every time the traffic police personnel expressed their inability to tell any time period for which this blockade is going to continue on Mathura Road," it said.
The petitioner had claimed that the advocates even approached the Police Commissioner and the Delhi government through email regarding the problems being faced every day while commuting from the top court to the high court, but no one even replied.
