Sealing: SC to hear fate of 40000 traders on Nov 6

New Delhi, Nov 5: The fate of over 40,000 traders in the Capital who have submitted affidavits in the Supreme Court could be decided tomorrow when the apex court hears petitions of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Centre seeking to defer the sealing drive against commercial establishments in residential areas of the city.

In a petition filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, the MCD and Delhi government said keeping in view the law and order situation and the anger among the traders' employees, who risk losing their jobs, ''the sealing operations be kept suspended for the present.'' ''The sealing operations may commence only after a review of the law and order situation by the government and the monitoring committee,'' MCD said.

Earlier, in two separate pleas filed on Tuesday and Thursday, the Centre had sought relief from sealing for the traders who had filed affidavits in the apex court.

It had also sought deferment of sealing till the finalisation of the Master Plan 2021.

In its plea before the Supreme Court, the Centre has said the law and order situation at present is not conducive to carrying out sealing.

In its recent meeting, the Group of Ministers on sealing also noted that in the volatile law and order situation in Delhi, the sealing drive could not be held.

The traders recently held a 72-hour Delhi Trade Bandh in the city, from October 30 to November 1, in protest against 'proposed' re-starting sealing of the units belonging to such traders.

Owing to the bandh, the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee had announced that sealing operations would not be held on November 1 but they would resume from November 2. However, due to violence on the last day of the bandh, the Monitoring Committee, after a marathon meeting with the MCD officials and those of the Delhi police, said sealing would not be held on November 2. However, it directed that the drive should re-start from November 3.

But this did not happen as the GoM on sealing, in a meeting on November 2, reiterated that the sealing drive in Delhi could not be held in the present circumstances and deferred it till Monday, when the apex court is to hear its plea for deferment.

Yesterday, the MCD moved the court seeking to suspend sealing for the present and commence the operations only after a review of the law and order situation by the government and the monitoring committee.

Meanwhile, the monitoring committee submitted to the court - in a sealed cover - a report on the status of the sealing drive and the vandalism during the three-day traders' bandh. It was not known if the panel had sought any action against the government for not undertaking the sealing drive.

The sealing drive is to include in its purview the over 40000 traders who had, during the sealing drive which started in December last, filed affidavits in the supreme court promising to close their shops located in residential areas by June 30, which was later extended to October 31 in view of the festive season.

All eyes are now on the apex court which will decide the fate of these traders tomorrow.

UNI

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