Expressing concern over the open sale of army apparel and gear, the Delhi High Court today pulled up the Centre for not taking the issue seriously. The court also asked the Delhi Government to take steps to curb the sale and manufacture of such items.<br/><br/>The bench said the Centre does not seem to be interested in doing anything despite the seriousness of the issue which has its implications on state security and public safety.<br/><br/>The court made the observations in the backdrop of recent terror strikes, including the one of the Pathankot Airforce Base in January 2016 by terrorists dressed in Indian Army fatigues leading to the death of seven security personnel including a Lieutenant Colonel and a civilian.<br/><br/>In November 2016 too, terrorists dressed in police the uniform had attacked the Army's XVI Corps headquarters at Nagrota in Jammu district killing seven security personnel<br/>including two officers.<br/><br/>A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and C Hari Shankar asked the Ministry of Defence to forthwith take action to comply with several government communications in this regard dating back to 1986-99. The court directed the authorities to file a report in this regard in eight weeks noting that despite there being a penal provision to punish those wearing or carrying tokens used by soldiers not a single action has been taken.