Nehru Place a no-vending zone: Delhi High Court orders removal of unauthorised vendors

The Delhi High Court recently reiterated that the Nehru Place District Commercial Complex is a “No-vending” and “No-hawking” zone [Bachchu Singh & Anr v. Municipal Corrporation of Delhi & Ors.].

Hence, the Court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take immediate steps to remove unauthorised vendors operating in the area.

A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain passed the order on March 24 while dismissing a petition filed by two vendors, who had sought directions restraining authorities from evicting them from vending sites opposite the Mansarovar Building at Nehru Place.

“The Petitioners do not have any rights to be vending in the Nehru Place area and the same has been repeatedly held by Division Bench of this Court... Under these circumstances, the relief sought by the Petitioners, to permit them to vend in the Nehru Place area cannot be acceded to,” the Court held.

The High Court also imposed costs of ₹10,000 on the two petitioners.

The Court noted that the petitioners had repeatedly approached courts over the years with similar claims seeking permission to vend in the commercial complex despite earlier rulings denying them such relief. Their previous petitions before the Delhi High Court had been dismissed and the Supreme Court had also declined to interfere with those decisions.

The dispute arose in 2016 when the petitioners were removed from the area by civic authorities. They had claimed to be regular street vendors operating in Nehru Place since the early 2000s and sought protection under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.

However, earlier judgments had found that their names did not appear in official lists of recognised vendors prepared under the directions of the Supreme Court.

Those lists included vendors identified by the Thareja Committee (1992) and the Chopra Committee (1996), as well as a limited group of vendors who had received protection through earlier court orders, including members of the Manushi Sangathan organisation.

The Court emphasised that Nehru Place had long been declared a no-vending and no-hawking zone by authorities.

It also referred to a separate suo motu proceeding initiated by the High Court in 2021 following a fire incident at the commercial complex, where concerns were raised about congestion caused by hawkers and vendors.

“It is clear that permitting of hawkers and vendors to vend in the Nehru Place area has raised severe safety and security concerns for the entire commercial complex itself. It is only a limited number of vendors, who have been allowed to vend in the said area, for whom also directions were passed by the Supreme Court for considering re-location or creation or an ear-marked area,” observed the Court.

During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners informed the Court that the vendors were presently operating in the Nehru Place area. The Court expressed concern at this disclosure, noting that such activity was contrary to earlier judicial orders.

“The petitioners are presently vending in the Nehru Place area. This would be completely contrary to the Division Bench orders of this Court, which have also been upheld by the Supreme Court. In fact, it is inexplicable as to how the Petitioners are being permitted to vend in the Nehru Place area. Accordingly, the MCD shall take immediate action and ensure that no unauthorized vendors are allowed to vend in the Nehru Place area,” said the Court.

The Court accordingly dismissed the petition and listed the matter for compliance on May 21.

Advocate Mohd Faisal appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

Advocates Meherunnisa Anand and Sirish Gupta represented Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Senior Panel Counsel Hussain Taqvi, along with advocates Soumya Saxena, Nazma Akhtar, Waseem and Madiha appeared for the Delhi Police.

[Read Order]