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Judgment
Prathiba M. Singh, J.
This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
CM APPL.48898/2026 (for exemption)
Allowed, subject to all just exceptions. Application is disposed of.
W.P.(C) 10561/2026
The present petition has been filed by the Petitioners under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, inter alia, seeking directions to the Respondents to allow the Petitioners to carry out their vending activities from Ward No. 102N and Ward 99N, Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh, Delhi and Rajender Nagar, Delhi.
The Petitioners are 24 street vendors, who have been issued provisional Certificates of Vending (hereinafter, ‘CoVs’) under different categories.
On the previous date i.e., on 29th July, 2026, the submission on behalf of the Petitioners was that the Petitioners are being harassed, on a daily basis and not being permitted to vend peacefully.
On the said date, the Court had noticed that Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh was a ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Hawking’ area and, accordingly, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter, ‘MCD’) was directed to place its stand before the Court.
Further, the Court also observed as under:
“[...] 10. It is noticed that several matters are filed against the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter, ‘the MCD’) on a daily basis, including vendor matters, TVC election matters, etc. Ld. Counsels need assistance from the MCD in these matters which is not always readily forthcoming. Sometimes matters are adjourned for this reason.
11.The Commissioner, MCD, is requested to nominate a Legal Officer, who can remain physically present in Court to assist the ld. Counsels as well as the Court, and facilitate coordination between the ld. Counsels and the concerned officials.”
Today, the Court has been informed that, in terms of the previous order dated 29th July, 2026, the following officers have been appointed as legal officers to assist the Court on behalf of the MCD, namely:
Name: Mr. Harish Sharma, ALO, MCD Phone No.: 9717788673
Name: Mr. Varun Sharma, JLO, MCD Phone No.: 9899781746
Since two Legal Officers have been appointed by the MCD, when MCD matters are taken up, at least one Legal Officer shall remain present in Court, to assist the Court.
On facts, ld. Counsel for the MCD has entered appearance and has presented a status report dated 1st August, 2026, to the effect that all the 24 Petitioners have not been allotted any specific tehbazari site, as they have to vend as mobile vendors. The status report is taken on record.
In addition, the Court has been informed that, as against the standard Condition No. 11 of the CoV, whereby mobile vendors were permitted not to remain or vend for more than 30 minutes, at any place within a vending/squatting zone, the permissible duration has been increased to 45 minutes.
However, it is confirmed by the MCD that Ajmal Khan Road has been declared as a ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Hawking’ area, hence, no squatting activities are permitted on Ajmal Khan Road, from PS Karol Bagh to Karol Bagh Metro Station.
The relevant portion of the said status report is set out below:
“4.That as per record, all the 24 petitioners have not been allotted any Tehbazari site for carrying out their vending activities from a fixed site. The petitioners have been issued a vending certificates (COVs) for carrying out his vending activities in Karol Bagh Zone, Ward NO. 102-N, (Now Ward No. 141, Old Rajinder Nagar) and Ward No. 99N (presently Ward No. 89, Karampura) after survey conducted as per the provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and Rules and Schemes framed thereunder.
5.That as per the provisons of the street vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and Rules and Schemes framed thereunder, the petitioners have to carry out their vending activities strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions of the vending certificates. That as per the clause 11 of the terms and conditions of COV, it is stipulated that Mobile Vendors shall not stay or vend more than 30 minutes or time prescribed by the TVC at place in a vending/squatting zone. However, it is submitted that the time of 30 minutes has already been changed to 45 minutes after meeting held on 15.05.2024 under the Chairmenship Addl. Chief Secretary (Urban Development Govt. of NCT of Delhi) in compliance of the directions passed in WPC No. 2265/2024, in the matter of Shiv Prasad & Ors. Vs MCD & Ors. Copy of minutes of meeting dated 15.04.2024 is annexed herewith as Annexure-B.
7.That on account of pedestrian project in and around Karol Bagh Area the whole Ajmal Khan Road has been declared as no squatting/hawking zone. Therefore, no squatting activities are allowed at Ajmal Khan Road from P.S. Karol Bagh to Metro Station Karol Bagh. It is further submitted that the department take encorachment removal action on regular basis from time to time against illegal squatters from the area i.e. Ajmal Khan Road. It is further that if any vending activities are being carried out by the petitioners on the pavement at Ajmal Khan Road, Karol Bagh, the same amounts to illegal squatting at non squatting / non hawking zone/place for which appropriate action is liable to be taken by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
8.That it is submitted that the concerned area from D.B. Gutpa Road, Ajmal Khan Road to Metro Station, Karol Bagh has been inspected by the field staff on 29.07.2026. During inspection, all the petitioners in the present petition were found to be vending in no vending squatting zone. The photographs taken during inspection and chart prepared with respect to the vending by the petitioners are annexed herewith as Annexure-C (colly).”
Along with the aforesaid status report, various photographs of the vendors have been placed on record. Some of the photographs have been extracted hereinbelow:
Mr. Kirtiman Singh, ld. Sr. Counsel appearing for the Petitioners, submits that the vendors are willing to abide by all the terms and conditions of the CoVs and seeks passing of orders on the same terms, as have been passed in similar matters, for instance, in W.P.(C) 9854/2026, titled ‘Phool Chand & Ors. v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi’, wherein the vendors were directed to abide by the terms and conditions of vending and certain further conditions were also imposed.
Ms. Meherunnisa A. Jaitley, along with Mr. Kartikay Aggarwal, ld. Counsel appearing for the MCD submits that the vendors cannot indulge in illegal and unlawful activities, in terms of condition no.10 of the CoV.
The Court has considered the matter and perused the records. A perusal of the photographs reveals the following:
That most of the street vendors are mobile vendors. However, they do not move periodically, in terms of the CoV.
The vendors have also started vending in ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Hawking’ areas such as Ajmal Khan Road, and are selling water, clothes, watches, and other merchandise.
That the clothes and garments which are being sold, appear to be having names of well-known brands such as Louis Vuitton, H&M, Zara, Allen Solly, Puma, Calvin Klein etc.
If the products sold by the Petitioners are counterfeit products or passed off products, the same would constitute an illegal and unlawful activity, in terms of standard Condition No.10 of the COV. However, this issue is not before this Court, but the Court also cannot turn a blind eye to it.
On an overall conspectus of the matter, this Court is clearly of the opinion that none of the Petitioners can be permitted to squat or vend in the concerned area, i.e., Ajmal Khan Road from P.S. Karol Bagh to Karol Bagh Metro Station, which has been declared a completely No-Vending and Non-Squatting Zone.
Pertinently, this Court in W.P.(C) 3244/2025 titled ‘Pushpendra Kumar & Ors. v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors.’ has also noted that Karol Bagh is a No-vending zone. The relevant portion of the judgment dated 17th March, 2025 is set out below:
“4.Heard ld. Counsel for the parties. It is observed that various vendors have repeatedly filed writ petitions in respect of conducting their business as tehbazaari holders in the Karol Bagh area. The Supreme Court, in 2000 in W.P.(C) 323/2000 titled as Pankaj Chopra & Ors. vs. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors. had clearly observed vide order dated 1st December, 2000 as under :-
“The grievance of the applicants is that in Karol Bagh Zone there are several unauthorised and ineligible persons allowed to squat in the area where the applicants are entitled to do their business. Mr. Shiv Kumar, learned counsel for the MCD submits that a direction may be issued to remove the ineligible and unauthorised persons from this area. We direct accordingly.
Identity Cards The MCD is, hereby, directed to give laminated identity cards to all the squatters
when final allotment is made. The identity cards must be displayed on the person or where the vend takes place. In areas where final allotment is made according to seniority fixed by the MCD, pursuant to the orders of the Chopra Committee, it will be obligatory for those to continue business of hawking to carry on the identity cards on their person or at the place where they are vending and in case of demand the identity card is not shown, it will be open to the MCD officials or the police to evict them. But this order will come in force once final allotment has been made and identity cards issued. The identity cards should be issued after taking photograph and reasonable fees from the vendors. A scheme will be prepared for providing identity cards. An advertisement to this effect will be made in the area calling upon the various hawkers within a particular period to come to the concerned office in the zone and receive their identity cards.
If this Court comes to the conclusion that in future if any unauthorised ineligible person is allowed to vend in these areas the concerned Deputy Commissioner of the Karol Bagh MCD Zone and the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the concerned District will be held responsible.
A copy of this order will be communicated to Deputy Commissioner of MCD and all Deputy Commissionersof Police of various Districts in Delhi The writ petition and the contempt petition are disposed of.”
5.The said order has been considered by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.(C) 17612/2024 titled as Pankaj Chopra v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors. as well. A detailed order has been passed on 20th January, 2025 in respect of similar facts as in the present petition. Vide the said order detailed directions have been issued in respect of conducting street vending in Karol Bagh. It needs no reiteration that except at specifically approved vending sites, no vending can be conducted. The order dated 20th January, 2025 is also clear in this regard…..
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16.This Court has perused the material placed on the record and it is observed that the said area has already been declared as a no hawking and no vending zone. Despite the same, the unauthorized hawking/vending is continuing rampantly as is apparent from the photographs placed by the petitioner on record.
17.Record further reveals that the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this Court has passed various orders time and again, wherein, the Courts have passed directions to the respondent department herein to remove unauthorized activities and encroachments by the unauthorized hawkers/vendors in the aforesaid area. There is no doubt that the respondent department has not complied with the directions issued to it on various occasions where the department's officers' personal responsibility has been fixed…”
Under these circumstances, the Petitioners in this petition would be bound to adhere to the terms and conditions of the CoV, which are extracted below:
In addition, the Petitioners would also have to ensure that they do not vend in ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Hawking’ areas and shall operate as mobile vendors.
The following further conditions are also imposed on the Petitioners, which are as under:
All the Petitioners shall operate as mobile vendors strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the provisional CoVs, as extracted hereinabove;
They shall not be permitted to carry on vending activities in any No-vending zone or No-hawking areas;
In the event the Petitioners are found carrying on vending activities in any No-vending zone or No-hawking ward, the concerned authorities, including the MCD and the SHO of the concerned area, shall ensure their removal, so that pedestrian movement is not obstructed and ingress to and egress from the Metro Stations remains unhindered;
The Petitioners shall carry on vending activities in a mobile manner, outside the Non-vending zones, within the wards specified in their respective provisional CoVs.
In the case of those vendors, who are selling counterfeit products of well-known brands such as Louis Vuitton, H&M, Zara, Allen Solly, Puma, Calvin Klein, etc., the SHO, P.S. Karol Bagh, shall take action against the Petitioners and all other vendors in the area. The SHO, P.S. Karol Bagh, shall thereafter proceed in accordance with law.
At this stage, ld. Counsel for the Petitioners has raised a valid grievance that the vendors, particularly the mobile vendors, are not aware of the declaration of Ajmal Khan Road as a ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Hawking’ Zone, as no notice board to this effect has been installed, nor any notification to this effect has been placed on record.
Ld. Counsel for the MCD has placed on record, a list of squatting and ‘No-squatting’ areas in the Karol Bagh zone, which would show as to what are the vending and ‘No-vending areas’, in Karol Bagh.
The Court takes notice of the fact that there are several ‘No-Vending’ Zones which may remain ‘No-vending’ only on paper, unless actual signage is installed at the site. In the absence of such signage on the ground, the vendors would find it difficult to ascertain whether a particular area has been declared as a ‘No-Vending’ zone or not.
Accordingly, one of the steps to be undertaken by the TVC-II upon constitution, would be to install boards, indicating the areas which have been declared as ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Squatting Zones’.
At this stage, however, the Court is informed that insofar as Ajmal Khan Road is concerned, appropriate signage has already been installed, indicating that the said area is a ‘No-Vending’ and ‘No-Squatting Zone’.
Accordingly, subject to adherence of the terms and conditions of the CoV as also the further conditions imposed above, the Petitioners shall not be disturbed and shall be permitted to carry out their vending activities.
The above stated directions shall be subject to any plan which the Town Vending Committee–II may be coming up with in terms of Section 21 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and no vested rights shall be claimed.
The petition is disposed of in the above terms. Pending applications, if any, are also disposed of.