HC orders MCD to free Nehru Place of illegal vendors

The Delhi High Court has ordered the MCD to remove unauthorized vendors from Nehru Place, citing safety concerns in the no-vending zone.

The Delhi High Court has ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take immediate steps for removing unauthorised vendors operating in Nehru Place District Commercial Complex, citing that the premises is a “no-vending” and “no-hawking” zone.

The court in its verdict delivered on March 24 emphasised that even for authorised ones, the Supreme Court has passed relocation orders. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A bench of justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain in the order released on Monday said that allowing hawkers and vendors in the Nehru Place area has raised safety and security concerns and only a limited number of authorised vendors are permitted to operate there.

The court in its verdict delivered on March 24 emphasised that even for authorised ones, the Supreme Court has passed relocation orders.

“Judicial notice can be taken that Nehru Place has been declared as a no-vending and no-hawking zone. It is clear that permitting of hawkers and vendors in Nehru Place has raised safety and security concerns for the entire commercial complex. It is only a limited number of vendors who have been allowed in the area, for whom also directions have been passed by the Supreme Court for considering re-location or creation of an earmarked area,” the court said.

The order was passed in a petition filed by two vendors seeking directions to restrain the authorities from evicting them from standing opposite the Mansarovar building at Nehru Place.

However, in its 15-page order, the court dismissed the petition, holding that the two vendors had no legal right to carry out vending activities in the area. It also imposed costs of ₹10,000 and directed the MCD to ensure that no unauthorised vendors are permitted to operate in the zone.

“It is inexplicable as to how the petitioners are being permitted to vend in Nehru Place. Accordingly, the MCD shall take immediate action and ensure that no unauthorized vendors are allowed to vend in the Nehru Place area. The Petitioners are thus not entitled to any relief,” the court said in its order.