Not On Sarojini Nagar’s 628-Vendor List, Man With Provisional Certificate May Vend There As Mobile Vendor: Delhi HC

The petitioner held a provisional certificate of vending (CoV) under the category “Others” for the Sarojini Nagar area.

He relied on challans said to show that he had been vending opposite Shop No. 137 and sought a permanent vending site there.

The Market Association submitted that he was not among the surveyed vendors and that the market had reached saturation; NDMC proposed that he be permitted to operate as a mobile vendor.

The Court noted that the petitioner was not included in the list of 628 vendors, although his provisional CoV authorised vending generally in the Sarojini Nagar area.

The petition was brought under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

The Court treated the provisional CoV and its terms and conditions as permitting the petitioner to vend generally in the Sarojini Nagar area, but not as establishing an entitlement to a particular site.

The decision on identifying a specific site was within the domain of TVC-II; no statutory provision or precedent was expressly cited in the judgment.

The Court considered the petitioner’s challans and photographs but noted that his name was absent from the list of 628 vendors and that Sarojini Nagar Market was extremely crowded.

In light of the general nature of his provisional CoV, the Court did not direct allotment of the requested specific site.

It accepted NDMC’s position that the petitioner could vend as a mobile vendor, while leaving any decision on a specific site to TVC-II.

It directed that he be permitted to vend as a mobile vendor in the Sarojini Nagar area in accordance with his provisional CoV and its terms and conditions.

TVC-II, after its constitution, was directed to decide the petitioner’s representation for a specific site within three months.

The petition and all pending applications were disposed of accordingly.