The Supreme Court on Monday rebuked the Centre and other authorities for the “complete breakdown” of law and order in Delhi and the governance lapses that have led to several strikes being held against the ongoing sealing drive in the city.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta questioned the central government about the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, and other legislation that protect unauthorised properties from being sealed in the city, PTI reported.

“You cannot go on destroying Delhi,” the Supreme Court told Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkrani, who is representing the Centre in the case. “There has to be some reason.”

The sealing drive is being conducted on the directions of a panel set up by the Supreme Court in 2006 to seal outlets where residential properties are being used for commercial purposes.

Since the drive began in December, traders have been staging agitations and major wholesale and retail markets in Delhi have shut down in protest for a few days at a time. During the drive, shops and restaurants have been sealed for encroachment and illegal constructions, among other violations, and for allegedly not having paid conversion charges. The city’s civic bodies have taken action against shops in Defence Colony Market, Khan Market, Mehar Chand Market and markets in Sundar Nagar, Hauz Khas, Rajendra Nagar, Chhatarpur and Vasant Kunj.

On Monday, the court asked the government to justify its stand on laws that protect unauthorised constructions. To this, Nadkarni responded saying there was a supply and demand gap in Delhi because of the lakhs of immigrants in the city, as a result of which around 1,400 unauthorised colonies housing around six lakh families had cropped up in the Capital.

At the last hearing on March 21, the Supreme Court-appointed panel refused to commit to ending the drive to seal illegal commercial establishments in Delhi immediately.