Dismissed¶33

Devi Charan v. New-Delhi Municipal Council and Ors.

Delhi HC19 May 2025W.P.(C)/6666/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Delhi High Court, W.P.(C) 6666/2025, Devi Charan v. New-Delhi Municipal Council — Tehbazari site substitution; Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014, Section 5(2); certificate of vending; succession by spouse/dependent child in order of priority; legal heir; non-dependent son aged 65; NDMC; Article 226; representation diary no. 233956; letter dated 23rd March 2025; petition dismissed; pending applications disposed.

What did the court decide?

Under Section 5(2) of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, where a person to whom a Certificate of Vending is issued passes away, only the spouse or a dependent child could be considered for substitution. ¶31

Devi Charan Vs New-Delhi Municipal Council and Ors. — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

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Issue for consideration

Whether the Petitioner, son of the deceased Smt. Laxmi in whose name the Tehbazari site stood transferred, is entitled, along with Respondent No. 3 Kali Charan, to substitution of their names as legal heirs / equal rights in the Tehbazari license after the mother's demise. +1 more

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Court's answer

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Ratio / Principle

Considering the scheme of the Act, substitution of a son who is not a dependant is not permissible; the Petitioner, himself 65 years of age and not vending at the said site for several years (his mother having died on 9th April 2019), could not be substituted.

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Key takeaways

Both the Petitioner's submissions — that no Certificate of Vending was issued to his mother, and that Respondent No. 3 is presently running the tehbazari site — are not made out from the record.ratio¶21

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Legal-heir substitution in a Tehbazari site — Writ petition under Article 226 by Devi Charan (65), son of late Smt. Laxmi, seeking substitution of his name jointly with Respondent No. 3 Kali Charan as legal heirs of their deceased mother in respect of Tehbazari Site No. 101-T-03, IOB Janpath, Parliament Street, New Delhi, which had stood in the father Late Sodan Singh's name and was transferred to the mother on 15th June 1999; the mother died on 9th April 2019. Held, dismissing the petition: under Section 5(2) of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, where a holder of a Certificate of Vending dies, only the spouse or a dependent child, in that order of priority, may vend in his place; substitution of a son who is not a dependant is impermissible. The Petitioner, himself 65 and not vending at the site for several years, could not claim substitution. His contentions — that no Certificate of Vending was issued to the mother and that Respondent No. 3 was running the tehbazari site — were held not made out from the record; counsel for NDMC further stated that Respondent No. 3 was also not currently vending. Representations of 2019 (diary no. 233956) and of 23rd March 2025 were noted. Petition dismissed; pending applications disposed of.

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$~83

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I� THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT �EW DELHI

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Date of decision: 19^th May, 2025

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- W.P.(C) 6666/2025 & CM APPL. 30221/2025

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DEVI CHARAN .....Petitioner

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Through: Mr. N. K. Sahoo, Advocate

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versus

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NEW-DELHI MUNICIPAL COUNCIL AND ORS.

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.....Respondents Through: Mr. Sriharsha Peechara, Standing Counsel

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CORAM:

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JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SI�GH JUSTICE RAJ�EESH KUMAR GUPTA

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Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

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This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

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The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner- Devi Charan under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, inter alia , seeking substitution of the name of the Petitioner and Respondent No. 3- Kali Charan jointly as legal heir of their deceased mother, Smt. Laxmi who passed away on 9th April 2019. 3. The case of the Petitioner is that he is 65 years of age and is the son of Smt. Laxmi W/o Late Sodan Singh. According to the Petitioner, his father Late Sodan Singh had been squatting at the Tehbazari Site No. 101-T-03, IOB Janpath, Parliament Street, New-Delhi. Thereafter, on 15th June 1999, the said site was transferred to the name of his mother. The mother of the Petitioner had three sons. One of them i.e. Udyaveer has passed away. The Petitioner and Respondent No. 3 are two sons who are alive.

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Signature Not Verified

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W.P.(C) 6666/2025

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Page 1 of 3

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Signed By:RAHUL Signing Date:22.05.2025 00:53:00

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It is prayed by the Petitioner that after the demise of the mother, the Petitioner ought to be given equal rights in the Tehbazari license .

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Firstly, there is no Certificate of Vending issued to the mother of the Petitioner. Secondly, the allegation is that the second brother i.e. Respondent No. 3- Kali Charan is presently running the tehbazari site.

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Both the submissions made on behalf of the Petitioner are not made out from the record. Moreover, ld. Counsel for the Petitioner submits that a representation vide dairy no. 233956 was made in 2019 and again in 2025 vide letter dated 23rd March 2025 to the New Delhi Municipal Council (hereinafter, ‘ NDMC ’). Ld. Counsel for the Petitioner submits that the same be considered by the NDMC.

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On the other hand, this is objected to by ld. Counsel for Respondent on the ground that under Section 5(2) of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 (hereinafter, ‘ the Act ’), only a spouse of a street vender or a dependent child can be considered for substitution and no one else.

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The Court has considered the matter. Section 5(2) of the Act reads as under:

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“5. Conditions for issue of certificate of vending.—(1) Every street vendor shall give an undertaking to the Town Vending Committee prior to the issue of a certificate of vending under section 4, that— (a) he shall carry on the business of street vending himself or through any of his family member; (b) he has no other means of livelihood: (c) he shall not transfer in any manner whatsoever, including rent, the certificate of vending or the place specified therein to any other person.

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(2) Where a street vendor to whom a certificate of vending is issued dies or suffers from any permanent

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Signature Not Verified

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W.P.(C) 6666/2025

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Page 2 of 3

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Signed By:RAHUL Signing Date:22.05.2025 00:53:00

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disability or is ill, one of his family member in following order of priority, may vend in his place, till the validity of the certificate of vending— (a) spouse of the street vendor; (b) dependent child of the street vendor: Provided that where a dispute arises as to who is entitled to vend in the place of the vendor, the matter shall be decided by the committee under section 20.”

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A perusal of the above provision would show that in respect of a person to whom a Certificate of Vending is issued, if such a person passes away, only the spouse or a dependent child could be considered for substitution.

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In the present case, the Petitioner is himself 65 years of age and has not been vending at the said site for several years. The mother of the Petitioner passed away on 9th April, 2019 itself. Considering the scheme of the Act, such substitution of a son who is not a dependant, would not be permissible. 11. Ld. Counsel for the NDMC also submits that Respondent No. 3 is also not currently vending at the said site. 12. Under these facts and circumstances, no relief deserves to be granted in the present case.

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