NEW DELHI: A vendor has no right to occupy the place of vending and keep his articles there round the clock, and they should leave with all belongings after vending hours are over, said the Delhi High Court.A bench of acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi, dealing with an application by a set of street vendors from the Okhla Industrial Area seeking to be made parties to the proceedings concerning the removal of encroachment there, said a certificate of vending only entitles the street vendor to vend in terms of the conditions on which the licence is granted and they can therefore use the allotted site only during the hours provided for in the vending licence.
“The vendor has no right to occupy the place of vending round the clock and to keep his/her articles at the place of vending continuously. He could only come to the vending site allotted to him during the hours which is permitted under the licence, and he should leave the place at the end of such hours, with all his belongings,” the bench, also comprising Justice Navin Chawla, said.
In the application, the applicants claimed that on account of the court’s order passed last month in which it directed the removal of encroachments, they would be uprooted from their place of vending and hence, sought a direction to restrain the action. The court opined that the application was without any merit and dismissed it while observing that it has only directed the removal of encroachment in the area, and the vendors claimed to be in possession of certificates of vending issued by the authorities.“This application has been moved by a set of street vendors who claim that they have been issued certificates of vending by the corporation,” the court said.