Justices Y K Sabharwal and K S Gupta issued the direction to MCD Deputy Health Officer K K Chaudhary and asked him to file an affidavit within a week.

The court order came on a public interest litigation filed by the Movement for Improvement of Landscape Environment and Society (MILES) alleging that some people were engaging in the illicit trade of human hair in Jawalapuri, Nihalvihar and adjoining areas. MILES has also alleged that the people involved in the trade burn the leftover hair, which is a health hazard for the surrounding colonies. The petition charges the police with providing protection to the people involved in the trade.

Chaudhary said that he had personally inspected the area a few days ago and found no evidence of the trade. MILES counsel Arun Khosla, while reading from an affidavit filed by the DDA, said that this had admitted that 40 people had been found to be involved in the trade in Jawalapuri.

The court took a serious view of the contradictory statements of two government authorities and warned that if the statements of MCD officials were found to be contrary, action would be taken against them.