Street vendors with 'Food/Snack with Gas' COVs may use cylinders subject to strict space and hygiene conditions.

Ten street vendors (Petitioners) filed a writ petition seeking to restrain the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) from disturbing or demolishing their vending activities at Harkesh Nagar, South Delhi

All Petitioners possessed provisional Certificates of Vending (COV) under various categories, including 'Food/Snack with Gas Cylinder/Fire', 'Others', and 'Fresh'

The Petitioners had been removed from their vending sites by the MCD prior to the hearing

1. Whether vendors holding provisional COVs for "Food/Snack with Gas Cylinder/Fire" are entitled to protection from eviction and under what conditions

2. Whether mobile vendors must strictly adhere to the terms of their COVs and how their vending locations should be regulated following removal

The Court applied the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, specifically Section 21 regarding the formulation of a vending plan by the Town Vending Committee (TVC)

It also relied on the principle of judicial consistency by following precedents set in Mohd Badruddin v. MCD, Rajendra Singh v. Commissioner of Police, and Rihana v. MCD, which establish specific operational parameters for vendors using fire/gas cylinders despite restrictive conditions in their COVs

For Petitioners 1, 5, and 10 (Food/Snack with Gas), the Court reasoned that complete prohibition via Condition No. 11 of the COV was unsustainable if they complied with strict safety and space constraints. The Court balanced the right to livelihood with public safety by permitting only small/medium cylinders and prohibiting encroachment on pedestrian paths

For the remaining Petitioners (Mobile Vendors), the Court emphasized that their rights are governed strictly by the terms of their COVs, requiring them to remain mobile and maintain hygiene

The Court determined that since the vendors had already been removed, the MCD Assistant Commissioner must act as the regulatory authority to identify and allocate permissible vending sites to prevent disruption of public order at non-vending sites

The Court disposed of the petition by granting conditional protection and directing all Petitioners to approach the Assistant Commissioner, MCD, for site identification, subject to future plans formulated by the Town Vending Committee-II under Section 21 of the Act