Full Text
HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Date of Decision: 20th July, 2026
RAMESH KUMAR THAKUR .....Petitioner
Through: Mr. Bibhuti Bhushan Mishra with Mr. Dhruv Chauhan, Mr. Gopinath D and
Ms. Niharika Punn, Advs. (M.
9999517030)
Through: Mr. Sriharsha Peechara, SC for NDMC with Mr. Soumit Ganguli, Ms. Ravicha Sharma and Mr. Akash Sharma, Advs. (M. 9717466788)
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
JUDGMENT
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, inter alia, seeking directions to the Respondents to amend the Certificate of Vending (hereinafter, ‘CoV’) of the Petitioner.
3. The case of the Petitioner is that he is a street vendor who has been vending from the vending site being INA, Delhi Haat, Gate No. 1, Delhi- 110003 (hereinafter, ‘the vending site’).
4. The grievance of the Petitioner is that when the survey was done, he had gone to his village and inadvertently his son i.e., Mr. Ayush Kumar’s name has been mentioned in the provisional CoV bearing Vendor ID: V2025401321.
5. According to the Petitioner, at the relevant time, since he had travelled to his village, his son had submitted all the documents in the Petitioner's name. Hence, the present petition.
6. On 7th July, 2026, notice was issued in the present petition and ld. Counsel for the Respondent was directed to seek instructions.
7. Today, ld. Counsel for the New Delhi Municipal Council has reverted with instructions and submits that the Petitioner was not present at the time of the survey and that the Petitioner's son is employed as a Data Entry Operator at Safdarjung Hospital. Therefore, it is unclear as to how the son was present at the vending site when the survey was conducted.
8. Ld. Counsel for the Petitioner seeks to explain the same by stating that when the Petitioner, who had gone to his village, learnt that the survey was being conducted, he requested his son to submit the documents on his behalf and that it is only due to inadvertence that the son's name appears to have been recorded in the CoV.
9. The Court has considered the matter. A perusal of the record also shows that the Petitioner has made a bona fide attempt to establish that he had travelled by train to Darbhanga, during the period when the survey was conducted.
11. Further, the son of the Petitioner has also given a ‘No objection affidavit’ which is annexed as Annexure- P10. The relevant portion of the said affidavit is set out below: “I, Ayush Kumar aged S/o Ramesh Thakur R/o House No. C 659/B, Sangam Vihar Dist.110062 do hereby solemnly affirm state as under:-
1. That I was surveyed at INA, Delhi Hatt, Gate No.1 Delhi-3 by the Survey Team in the absence of my father Ramesh Thakur and accordingly Survey ID NO V2025401321 being generated in my name.
2. That I have no objection if the name of my father Ramesh Thakur will be substituted against the Surevey ID No V2025401321.”
12. The identity documents of Petitioner’s son have also been placed on record. The same have also been perused by the Court.
13. Considering that the Petitioner's case appears to be bona fide, let the provisional CoV, already issued in favour of the Petitioner's son bearing No. V2025401321, be rectified and issued in the name of the Petitioner, namely, Ramesh Kumar Thakur.
14. Upon rectification, the Petitioner’s son shall stake no claims towards the vend of the Petitioner or towards the said provisional CoV.
15. This order shall be borne in mind while issuing the final certificate, by the TVC, whenever it is constituted.
16. There shall be no obstruction in the Petitioner’s vending activity as long as the same is as per the terms and conditions of the CoV.
17. Let the rectification in the CoV be carried out within a period of one month from this order.
18. Petition along with pending application is disposed of in these terms.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE VIKAS MAHAJAN JUDGE JULY 20, 2026 nsa/sm