The Supreme Court on Tuesday criticised the Centre for letting traders hold New Delhi to ransom with their protests against the ongoing sealing drive in the city. Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also rebuked the government for protecting illegal constructions.

The court is hearing arguments on the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, and other legislation that protect unauthorised properties from being sealed in the city. On Monday, the court had rebuked the Centre and other authorities for the “complete breakdown” of law and order in Delhi and the governance lapses that led to the strikes.

“These people [traders] are saying that we have done something illegal, but please protect us,” the court said on Tuesday,” according to PTI. “Dharnas by the traders are admission of their guilt. Innocent people do not go on dharnas. That is why they are doing dharnas. What can be more arbitrary than this?”

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.

“You have to realise that people of Delhi are important, whether you are Delhi Development Authority, government, municipal corporation of Delhi or any other agency,” the court told Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkrani, who is representing the Centre in the case, on Tuesday. “Illegalities have been perpetuated and are now being legalised...this is destruction.”

“There will be eight to 10 lakh traders in Delhi,” the court said. “To protect them, you are holding 186 lakh people to ransom. It cannot be done. At Ghazipur and Bhalswa, you have garbage pile up of 60 metres. You have water shortage, you have huge traffic problem, huge problem of breathing air and pollution.”

It added: “What for? For the sake of traders? For protecting them and protecting their illegalities? Not only this generation, but it will have effect on the coming generations also.” Besides the problems posed by rampant encroachment in Delhi, there was a lot of corruption, the court observed.

Additional Solicitor General Nadkarni said the traders’ protests were not right but claimed the Centre was being viewed as a villain. “It is a failure of system as a whole [and not just the Centre’s],” he said.

The court also asked the government about the steps it has taken to remove encroachments and unauthorised colonies in Delhi. While Nadkarni talked about a plan to regularise the colonies, the court said, “You cannot regularise something which is totally not in accordance with law.”

The court will continue to hear the matter on Wednesday.