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HIGH COURT OF DELHI
JUDGMENT
AJAY KUMAR ..... Petitioner
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner : Mr. Abhishek Saxena, Mr. Singh Nishant Sanjay
Kumar, Mr. Saurav Dewal, Mr. Vaibhav Patel, Mr. Munish and Mr. Rahul Pratap Singh, Advocates.
For the Respondents : Ms. Puja Kalra, Standing Counsel for R-1/MCD.
Mr. Divyam Nandrajog, Panel Counsel, GNCTD along with Mr. Jatin Dua, Advocate for R-2 & R-3.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANISH DAYAL
CM APPL. 48842/2023 (Exemption)
Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions.
The application stands disposed of accordingly.
1. The present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, has been instituted on behalf of the petitioner, praying as follows:- “It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed before this Hon'ble Court that in the given facts and circumstances of this case, it may, in the interest of justice, be pleased to:
GHITORNI to ensure that the petitioner street vendor shall not be forcefully and illegally be removed from his vending site.
Government of NCT of Delhi to comply and effectuate the provision of section 20 of the STREET VENDORS (PROTECTION OF LIVELIHOOD AND REGULATIONS OF STREET VENDING) ACT, 2014, and make the dispute redressal committee functional within the stipulated time period
FOR WHICH ACT OF KINDNESS THE PETITIONER SHALL AS IN DUTY BOUND EVERY PRAY.”
2. Issue notice.
3. Ms. Puja Kalra, learned Standing Counsel, accepts notice on behalf of the respondent No.1/MCD and Mr. Divyam Nandrajog, learned panel counsel accepts notice on behalf of the respondent Nos. 2 and 3.
4. Learned Standing Counsel appearing on behalf of the MCD, has invited our attention to the terms and conditions, permitting the petitioner to vend.
5. For the sake of completeness, the said terms and conditions attached to the Certificate of Vending, are reproduced herein below:-
6. In terms of the Certificate of Vending issued to the petitioner, it is clearly stipulated that he cannot vend from any particular location, contrary to the express terms of Clause no. ‘11’, of the said Certificate of Vending. It is further observed that since the Town Vending Committee (TVC) is yet to fix a time limit, providing for a period, during which a vendor can vend from any particular spot, the stipulation of 30 minutes time, contained in the said clause, is binding on the petitioner, at this stage. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner states, that he does not pray for the relief of running his business from any particular vending site, within the zone where he has been permitted to vend by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and further, the limited relief that is prayed for, is to permit the petitioner to vend strictly, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Certificate of Vending dated 06.11.2021, issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
7. It is an admitted position that the Town Vending Committee (TVC), has in terms of the directions issued by this Court, from time to time, as well as, in terms of the mandate of Section 3 (Survey of street vendors and protection from eviction on relocation) and Section 4 (Issue of certificate of vending) of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, carried out a survey, in some of the areas under the MCD zones; pursuant to which, the petitioner, namely, Mr. Ajay Kumar, has been issued a certificate of vending dated 06.11.2021 (URI: 9374472), which is annexed as Annexure P-3, to the present writ petition.
8. In view of the foregoing, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, categorically limits the relief in the present writ petition, to a direction to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, to permit Mr. Ajay Kumar, to continue to vend within South Zone, Ward-S-73, strictly and scrupulously in compliance with the terms and conditions of the said certificate of vending, particularly Clause no. 11, and in accordance with law.
9. In view of the above, the present writ petition is partly allowed; and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is directed to permit Mr. Ajay Kumar, the petitioner herein, to vend within South Zone, Ward-S-73, subject to the terms and conditions of the aforementioned certificate of vending dated 06.11.2021, without any let or hindrance.
10. No further directions are prayed for.
11. With the above directions, the writ petition is disposed of accordingly. The pending application also stands disposed of.
12. A copy of this judgment be uploaded on the website of this Court forthwith.
SIDDHARTH MRIDUL (JUDGE)
ANISH DAYAL (JUDGE) SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 Click here to check corrigendum, if any