Shimla, March 21 (IANS): The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Saturday directed the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police to appear before it in person on April 20 in connection with movement of vehicles on restricted and sealed roads in Shimla.

A division bench comprising the Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the order after hearing a petition on Shimla's vehicular problems.

Earlier, the court directed the government to file a status report on a list of permit holders.

The chief secretary informed the court that 846 new permits and 1,015 renewed permits were issued by the secretary (home).

Likewise, 318 permits were issued by the state assembly secretary.

"There is no need and justification to review the existing permits and re-issue them as it would cause inconvenience to local residents," he said.

Shimla has several auto-free zones to facilitate unrestricted movement of pedestrians.

The strolling culture of Shimla, which served as the summer capital of the British India between 1864 and 1939, was developed by the colonial rulers.