Malkit Singh vs State Of U.T. Chandigarh
- Court
- Supreme Court
2026 INSC 663
NON- REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4400 of 2026
MALKIT SINGH AND
ANR. ... APPELLANT (S)
Versus
STATE OF U.T., CHANDIGARH &
ORS. ... RESPONDENT (S)
O R D E R
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1. On 9 April 2026, we had passed a detailed order,
recognising that the efforts made by the respondent-State had
borne some fruit. It was observed that any act by the State ought
to ensure that there is minimum disruption of livelihood with
adequate sense of fairness and responsibility. If the zones are
identified, the authorities must also give the vendors adequate
support to relocate. It has to be recognised that such relocation
disrupts the customers of a particular vendor and also deprives
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
NEETU KHAJURIA
Date: 2026.07.01
15:10:15 IST
Reason:
the residents of immediate or proximate access to such vendors.
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 1 of 11
The State had been asked to file affidavits indicating information
about existing vending zones and all other relevant details.
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2. Vide order dated 5 May 2026, we had asked certain
officials of the respondent-union territory to be present in Court
namely (i) The Chairperson (Commissioner), Town Vending
Committee, Chandigarh; (ii) The Chairperson, GRDRC,
Chandigarh; and (iii) The Secretary, Local Government & Home,
Chandigarh, with whom we freely interacted. We had also
perused the note of the learned amicus curiae Mr. Anant Vijay
Palli, senior counsel.
3. On the said date, an affidavit was filed by the
Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh in addition
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to earlier affidavit dated 25 April 2026. Inter-alia, it has been
submitted that the Municipal Corporation website displays the
detail of each relocated vendor through a searchable list;
numerous anti-encroachment drives were carried out in which
(approximately) 5400 challans have been issued, with 1150
approximately pertaining to Manimajra area. The number of
registered vendors total to 10939, the division of which is as
follows: -
Total Registered Vendors Detail
Detail ESP Mobile N-ESP Total
Total Registered
vendors
3563 1139 6237 10939
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 2 of 11
Regarding basic amenities in the vending zone, which was a
concern expressed by this Court, Para 16 of the affidavit reads as
follows:
“16. That the basis amenities of drinking water, toilets,
Paver blocks are mostly available at vending zones as most
of the vending zones are adjoined with the markets.
However, in other vending zones, there are 18 nos. of
mobile toilets vans, available as and when required at any
vending zones and the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh
is also in process of procurement of more 10 nos. of mobile
toilets van which would also be made available to facilitate
the public amenities at vending sites.”
A total of 6881 licenses have thus far been cancelled for non-
deposit of requisite instalments. Para 21 contains the details as
follows:
“ That the remaining 5535 vendors, have neither
approached the Appellate Authority nor paid the
outstanding dues. It seems that most of these vendors have
been migrated to somewhere and in case any vendor is
found vending without payment of the requisite vending
fee, then the challans are being issued in order to enforce
the rules/ bye-laws which do not allow unlicensed /illegal
street vending”
1346 vendors filed appeals before the appellate authority against
cancellation and 1177 were permitted to deposit outstanding fee
within three months as per the date of their orders. As on date of
the affidavit 169 appeals were pending. Before the Grievance
Dispute Redressal Cell (GRDRC), there were 443 applications
pending without interim protections.
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 3 of 11
4. In response to the above affidavit of the Commissioner,
Municipal Corporation which stood served to the learned amicus
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curiae , on 28 April 2026, the following submissions have been
made:
(i) Challans are not a solution to the issue for they do
not directly result in removal of encroachment or
rehabilitation of vendors and so they are only a revenue
generating exercise and nothing more;
(ii) No Evidence is presented showing that these
vendors have been ‘ meaningfully guided ’ towards these
sites and new certificates of vending have accordingly
been issued;
(iii) The effect of mass cancellation has grave impact on
the livelihoods of the people. Out of the total cancellations
5535 vendors have not even approached the appellate
authority, this indicates that for lack of alternate
employment, they may continue to do street vending which
shall, now be done illegally;
(iv) For the appeals that are pending before the GRDRC,
a time bound schedule should be mandated with an outer
limit of four weeks to decide all matters;
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 4 of 11
(v) The steps taken regarding Chandigarh should also
be extended to Mohali and Panchkula since they function
as a ‘single integrated urban agglomeration’;
(vi) The definition of Essential Service Provider is
submitted as being unsustainable because it includes food
vending such as Chhole Bhature within its expanse. This
may dilute the very concept of ESP.
The learned amicus has thereafter made following prayers:
In the light of the above, the Amicus Curiae
“
respectfully urges this Court to:
a) Direct the MCC to file a result-oriented compliance
report not merely listing drives conducted and
challans issued, but specifying : the number of sites
permanently cleared and verified to remain free of
encroachment after a minimum period of 30 days;
the number of displaced vendors actually relocated
to and operating from designated bending zones;
and photographic and field verification evidence in
support thereof.
b) Direct the Commissioner, MCC, to put in place a
dedicated enforcement team for post-drive
monitoring to ensure that cleared sited are not re-
encroached, with weekly compliance reports to be
placed before this Court until the matter is finally
resolved.
c) Fix a firm timeline of four weeks for the GRDRC
and the Appellate Authority to dispose of all 443
pending applications, failing which this Court may
consider appropriate action against the concerned
officers.
d) Direct the MCC to revisit and narrow the definition
of Essential Service Providers under the 2018 Bye
Laws to prevent, its misuse as a shield against
legitimate enforcement action.
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 5 of 11
e) Direct the MCC to publish ward-wise, sector-wise
data on vacant vending sites available, vendors
relocated thereto, and site confirmed as
permanently encroachment-free, so that this Court
and the public may assess compliance on objective
parameters rather than raw challan counts.
f) Extend the scope of these directions to the entire
Tricity region, directing the local bodies of Mohali
and Panchkula to conduct coordinated anti-
encroachment drives and the file compliance
reports before this Court on the same timelines
applicable to the MCC.
The object of this Court’s intervention is not to be seen
to have acted, but to ensure that Chandigarh’s streets
are genuinely free of unauthorised encroachments
while its vendors are lawfully sheltered in designated
zones. Anything short of that outcome is mere
performance”
5. In reply to the amicus curiae , the Municipal Corporation,
Chandigarh through the Commissioner submits that:
(i) The removal of encroachment is a periodically
recurring exercise and is undertaken in view of the
provisions of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act 1976
as extended to Chandigarh by the Street Vendors Bye-laws
of 2018;
(ii) The process of issuing smart IDs to vendors is an
ongoing process that will attest to the authenticity and
genuineness of the vendor. It will also contain the geo-
coordinates of the site allocated to them;
(iii) Nodal officers have been appointed by order dated
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7 May 2026 to facilitate shifting of vendors and also, for
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 6 of 11
maintaining basic amenities, and the said officers have
been directed to undertake daily inspection;
(iv) The cancellation of licenses was a measure of last
resort and all of them have been given ample opportunity
to deposit the amount i.e. time of 30 days after publishing
of notice in newspaper;
(v) The appellate authority has decided 1177 appeals.
The total of 1346 appeals arise out of two types- the
decision of the town vending committee and the GRDRC.
Further dates had been fixed for hearing vide public notice
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dated 6 May 2026 i.e., on 8 May 2026. Regarding the
remaining appeals, it is submitted as follows:
“31. That in compliance of strict directions of this
Hon’ble Court, the Appellate Authority has disposed of
total 330 appeals out of total 409 appeals and balance
79 pending appeals would be decided at the earliest. It
is relevant to submit that out of that 79 pending appeals,
the 75 appeals have been filed in the month of February
2026 against the order dated 21.01.2026 of the
GRDRC”
6. The above affidavits have received due consideration.
Considering the entire dispute at hand and with the intent to take
things to their logical conclusion in a manner that effectively
deals with the problems pointed out by the original writ
petitioners, we issue the following directions and expect the same
will be complied, in letter and spirit:
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 7 of 11
(i) The recently identified vending zones and the
shifting of license vendors to such location be carried out at
the earliest;
(ii) The vending zones should be made fully operational
with everyday monitoring by the city officials to ensure
smooth functioning along with adequate road signage in all
languages of daily use pointing the commuting public to the
zones;
(iii) The public amenities in each of these vending zones
if not already there be established forthwith, and once
operational, requisite attention be paid to its upkeep;
(iv) Advertisements be placed both in print and
electronic media at regular intervals informing the public of
the vending zones and the timing associated therewith;
(v) The process of issuance of smart cards is a welcome
step that ought to be carried on swiftly for all vendors. The
details of each vendor along with the smart card number be
supplied to the jurisdictional police station(s) and the
District Administration;
(vi) In order to ensure safety and security of the vendors
as also the buyers visiting the vending zones, the installation
of CCTV cameras must be completed within six months,
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 8 of 11
with adequate provision of storing the videos for a specified
period of time as may be deemed fit;
(vii) The authorities to consider having a helpline for the
vendors and buyers with the authority in order to boost the
confidence of the vendors, the security of the vending zone
and also the trust of the buyers in proper regulation of the
area;
(viii) All applications/appeals that are still pending, be
decided at the earliest after giving due opportunity of
hearing to all interested parties. At any rate, the current
batch of applications/appeals be decided within 60 days. For
fresh applications/appeals, an outer limit of 30 days be
implemented subject to provisions of the Street Vendors
(Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
Act, 2014 and its bye laws;
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7. During the course of hearing on 12 , May 2026 the
learned amicus emphatically opposed the stand taken by the
respondents (Chandigarh Administration) in its reply note dated
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12 May 2026 regarding the Notification dated 17 July 2020
expanding the definition of ‘ Essential Service Providers ’ as also
the time for which they were permitted to ply their services on
the streets. It was contended that since it was brought out during
the peculiar, stressful and unique conditions of the national
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 9 of 11
disaster – COVID 19, it has outlived its object, purpose and
utility, and accordingly, needs to be set aside, restoring status quo
ante . Deliberations with all concerned, including the
functionaries, officers present in the Court led us to a formation
of consensus with the learned amicus curiae on this specific
issue. The relevant portion of the Notification is extracted as
under: -
CHANDIGARH ADMINISTRATION
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, CHANDIGARH
VENDORS CELL
Notification The 17th July, 2020
No. CMC/2020/1401.—In the exercise of the powers conferred by Section
37 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street
Vending) Act, 2014 the Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh, vide
Memo No. 1354-FII(8)-2020/9399, dated 10.07.2020 is pleased to approve
the following amendments in the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood
and Regulation of Street Vending) Bye-Laws, 2018.
1. These Bye-Laws may be called as the Street Vendors (Protection of
Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vetrial) Bye-Laws (Amendment) 2020.
2. These shall come into force from the date of their publication in the
Official Gazette.
Chapter I, Para No: 2. (d)
'Read' "Essential Service
Providers" means those means
street vendors who are providing
essential services within the
vicinity e.g. cobbler,
milk/bread/egg seller, tea vendor,
cycle/rickshaw, dhobi (ironing)
barber, Tandoor, Chhole Bhature,
Kulche Chhole and Parantha.
Fruits and vejetables and the
‘For’ “Essential Service
Providers” means those street
vendors who are providing essential
services within the vicinity
e.g.cobbler, milk/bread/egg seller,
tea vendor, cycle/rickshaw repairer,
dhobi (ironing) barber and
massager.
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 10 of 11
Chapter II, Para No:4(g)
‘For’ Sell goods or service or
merchandise between 6 A.M. as
specified by the TVC
florists witting outside the
religious places like Mandir and
Gurudwara.
‘Read’ Sell goods or service
merchandise between 6 A.M. to
10 P.M. as specified by the TVC
… … …
… … …
Commissioner
Municipal Corporation
Chandigarh”
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Accordingly, we quash the said Notification dated 17 July
2020 extracted supra . Undoubtedly, the earlier Notification
would govern the field.
8. Let an affidavit indicating the status of compliance with
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the aforesaid directions be filed by 22 July 2026. List on 24
July 2026 at 2.00 P.M. before this bench.
……………………..………………………J.
(SANJAY KAROL)
…………………..…………………………J.
(NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH)
New Delhi;
st
1 July, 2026
Civil Appeal No.4400 of 2026 Page 11 of 11