Street vendors with provisional vending certificates cannot claim fixed sites: Delhi High Court

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The Delhi High Court has held that street vendors holding provisional Certificates of Vending (CoVs) cannot claim a right to fixed vending sites.

A Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan said the demand for fixed vending sites under provisional CoVs could not be permitted, noting that the certificates were subject to specific terms and conditions governing street vending.

The court was hearing a petition filed by 42 persons who claimed to have provisional CoVs and sought directions to the authorities to indicate the exact sites where they were permitted to vend.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), however, stated that the petitioners were, at best, mobile vendors and did not have any identified stationary sites that could be allotted to them.

The Court also took note of photographs placed on record and observed that the petitioners were not vending as mobile vendors but were operating stationary shops. It said they had encroached upon footpaths and walking areas and were also causing traffic congestion.

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The court, in its August 3 order, further observed that the vending sites were not being maintained in a clean and hygienic manner.

The court noted that the provisional CoVs carried conditions requiring vendors to adhere to the selling time and zone fixed by the Town Vending Committee, ensure that pedestrian and traffic movement was not obstructed, and refrain from encroachment.

It directed the MCD to verify whether all 42 petitioners actually possessed provisional CoVs. Those found to have valid provisional CoVs would be allowed to vend as mobile vendors, subject to the conditions attached to their certificates.

The court said any petitioner or vendor who did not have a provisional CoV or failed to comply with the prescribed conditions would be liable to be removed by the MCD.

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