Surya Lal Gupta Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

Surya Lal Gupta Vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition disposed of: Petitioner permitted to run his food vend at the vending site subject to conditions — (i) only a small/medium gas cylinder; (ii) confinement to his space without encroachment on pedestrian areas; (iii) cleanliness/hygiene with a dustbin near the vend; (iv) Condition No. 11 of the CoV not to apply, while complying with all other CoV conditions; (v) no sub-letting, third-party interest or handing over possession of the provisional CoV; (vi) no permanent or temporary construction. MCD at liberty to remove the vend on violation. Directions subject to any Town Vending Committee–II plan under Section 21, Street Vendors Act, 2014, with no vested rights. Surprise inspections by MCD officials and a compliance report directed; pending applications disposed; compliance listed for 22 May 2026.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Petitioner, holder of a Certificate of Vending, is entitled to peacefully vend at the vending site in front of Guru Ravidas Mandir, Shahi Hospital Road, Bhogal (Central Zone, Ward S-55), despite MCD officials not permitting him to do so, and on what conditions. +1 more

Court's answer

Persons running vends have a bounden obligation to maintain cleanliness around the vend and not completely occupy the pavement or the road in front of the vend.

Ratio / Principle

The Petitioner, whose CoV category is 'Food/ Snack with Gas Cylinder/ Fire', is permitted to run the vend at the vending site, subject to the enumerated conditions.

Key takeaways

Only a small or medium sized gas cylinder, for heating of food and snacks, shall be used by the Petitioner at the vend.ratio¶¶47
The Petitioner shall restrict himself to the particular space from which he operates and shall not extend or encroach upon pedestrian areas or obstruct pedestrian movement.ratio¶¶48
The Petitioner is obliged to maintain cleanliness and hygiene around the vend and to ensure the presence of a dustbin near the vend.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Delhi (Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain, JJ.; judgment orally by Prathiba M. Singh, J.) disposed of a writ petition (Art. 226) by a street vendor holding a Certificate of Vending (URI No. 9443735, category 'Food/ Snack with Gas Cylinder/ Fire', Central Zone, Ward S-55) for a site in front of Guru Ravidas Mandir, Shahi Hospital Road, Bhogal, whom MCD officials were not allowing to vend peacefully. Following its approach in Mohd Badruddin (W.P.(C) 19391/2025), Rajendra Singh (W.P.(C) 15082/2025) and Rihana (W.P. (C) 1609/2026), the Court permitted the vend subject to conditions: use of only a small/medium gas cylinder; confinement to the allotted space without encroaching on pedestrian areas; maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene with a dustbin; no sub-letting, third-party interest or construction. Condition No. 11 of the CoV (30-minute limit for mobile vendors) was held not to apply, subject to compliance with the other conditions. On violation (benches/chairs, unclean site), MCD may remove the vend in accordance with law. Directions are subject to any Town Vending Committee–II plan under Section 21 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, with no vested rights; surprise inspections and a compliance report were ordered; compliance listed on 22 May 2026.

$~54

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Date of decision: 19^th March, 2026 Uploaded on: 20^th March, 2026

W.P.(C) 3560/2026 SURYA LAL GUPTA .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Sanjay Baniwal, Ms. Manisha and Mr. R. K. Seewal, Advs.

versus

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Ms. Meherunnisa Anand and Mr. Sirish Gupta Advs. for MCD.

CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE MADHU JAIN

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner-Mr. Surya Lal Gupta under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, inter alia , seeking directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter, ‘MCD’) to allow the Petitioner to peacefully vend from the vending site in front of Guru Ravidas Mandir, Shahi Hospital Road, Bhogal, New Delhi- 110014, Central Zone, Ward- S- 55 (hereinafter, ‘the vending site’) .

The brief background of the Petitioner’s case is that he is a street vendor who has been vending his wares from the vending site since before 2014. The Petitioner was issued a Certificate of Vending (hereinafter, ‘CoV’) bearing URI No. 9443735 under the category 'Food/ Snack with Gas Cylinder/ Fire' by the MCD, for Central Zone, Ward-S-55.

Signature Not Verified

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However, the grievance of the Petitioner in the present petition is that the concerned officials of the MCD are not allowing the Petitioner to peacefully vend at the vending site.

The photograph placed on record by the Petitioner is set out below:

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On behalf of the Respondent-MCD, Ms. Meherunnisa Anand, ld. Counsel, has placed on record certain photographs to show that various benches and chairs are placed next to the vend of the Petitioner at the vending site. It is further shown that the pavement area at the vending site is blocked and garbage has accumulated and is not being properly cleared by the Petitioner. The requisite standards of cleanliness and hygiene are not being maintained by the Petitioner.

The photographs placed on record by the MCD are set out below:

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The Court has considered the matter. Clearly, there is a bounden obligation upon persons who are running vends to maintain cleanliness around the vend and not completely occupy the pavement or the road in front of the vend.

Recently, in a similar matter i.e., in W.P.(C) 19391/2025 titled Mohd Badruddin v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors., a vendor with a provisional CoV, who was also entitled to vend ‘Food/Snacks with gas cylinder/fire’ , has been exempted by this Court to comply with Condition No.

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11 of the CoV.

The said Condition No. 11 of the COV reads as under:

“11. Mobile vendors shall not stay or vend more than 30 minutes or time prescribed by the TVC at place in a vending/squatting zone.”

After hearing ld. Counsels appearing for the parties and perusing the CoV of the Petitioner, as also the photographs, this Court is inclined to pass directions as have been passed in similar matters being W.P.(C) 19391/2025 titled ‘ Mohd Badruddin v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors.’ , W.P.(C) 15082/2025 titled ‘ Rajendra Singh v. Commissioner of Police and Ors’. and in W.P. (C) 1609/2026 titled ‘Rihana v. MCD & Ors.’ 12. Since the category of the Petitioner is ' Food/ Snack with Gas Cylinder/ Fire' , the Petitioner is permitted to run the vend at the vending site, subject to the following conditions:

i. The Petitioner shall be permitted to operate his vend, but shall use a gas cylinder which does not occupy too much space. It is made clear that only a small or medium sized gas cylinder for heating of food and snacks shall be used by the Petitioner;

ii. The Petitioner shall restrict himself to a particular space, where he is operating from, and shall not extend/encroach to the pedestrian areas or cause obstruction in movement of pedestrians;

iii. The Petitioner shall also be obliged to maintain cleanliness and hygiene around the vend, which he is working from and shall ensure the presence of a dustbin near the vend;

iv. Subject to the above, Condition No.11 in the CoV shall not apply

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to the Petitioner. The Petitioner shall comply with all the other conditions in the CoV.

v. It shall be ensured that the Petitioner shall not create any thirdparty interest in this provisional CoV and there shall be a bar on sub-letting or any handing over possession to any third party. vi. No permanent or temporary construction shall also be erected by the Petitioner.

If there is any violation of the aforesaid conditions by the Petitioner and if the Petitioner puts up benches or chairs or does not keep the vending site clean, the MCD is at liberty to remove the vend of the Petitioner in accordance with law.

The above stated directions shall be subject to any plan which the Town Vending Committee–II may be coming up with in terms of Section 21 of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 and no vested rights shall be claimed.

Let a few surprise inspections be conducted by the concerned officials of the MCD and a compliance report be filed in this regard. 16. The present petition is disposed of in the said terms. Pending applications, if any, are also disposed of 17. List for compliance on 22^nd May, 2026.

PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUDGE

MADHU JAIN JUDGE

MARCH 19, 2026/b/sm

Signature Not Verified

Signed By:RENUKA NEGI Signing Da te:2 0.03.2026 18:00:39

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