Delhi HC Rejects Street Vendor’s Plea, Says Vend Photos Misled Court As MCD Images Showed Pavement Dhaba

The petitioner, a street vendor holding a Certificate of Vending (COV) under the category “Food/Snack with gas cylinder/fire,” sought a direction permitting her to vend peacefully at a designated spot beside DAV School near Nizamuddin Railway Station.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi produced photographs which, according to the Court, showed the petitioner operating a roadside restaurant, using a large gas cylinder and encroaching on public space.

The Court also found that the petitioner’s photographs were misleading.

The Court considered the petitioner’s request for writ relief under Article 226 of the Constitution and the terms and conditions governing her COV.

The judgment cites no specific statute, precedent, or further legal test; it proceeds on the basis that vending must comply with the COV’s terms and conditions and that authorities may act where those conditions are violated.

The Court compared the petitioner’s account and photographs with the MCD’s photographs, which it considered to show that she was operating a dhaba on the pavement rather than vending within the limits of her COV.

It found that she had misled the Court, used a large gas cylinder and encroached on public space; accordingly, it held that she could not obtain relief to continue vending in that manner.

It clarified that the authorities remained entitled to take action if she violated the terms and conditions of her COV; pending applications, if any, were disposed of.