Delhi HC declares Nehru Place District Centre ‘no-hawking’, ‘no-vending’ zone; compliance report due Nov 30

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has declared the Nehru Place District Centre a “no-hawking” and “no-vending” zone while allowing 90 authorised vendors to shift to a designated site. Thus, the whole area, except the portion marked for the authorised vendors, would no longer be open for vending and hawking.

A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Dinesh Bhatt passed the direction, permitting Town Vending Committee-II (TVC-II) to take a decision on the vending rights of the 90 vendors. The High Court clarified that TVC-II has to decide whether these vendors are entitled to a Certificate of Vending and, if they are, the area where they would be vending. The decision has to be made within two months of the constitution of TVC-II.

According to the bench led by Justice Singh, of the more than 400 vendors currently selling in the Nehru Place District Centre, most are unauthorised. The 90 vendors involved in the proceedings have relevant protection and recognition, with 62 vendors being associated with Manushi Sangathan, 22 vendors in W.P. (C) 6823/2017, and six vendors in two other connected petitions.

“Under these circumstances, bearing in mind that the TVC-II is about to be constituted and these vendors have been vending in this area for several years, the above-mentioned vendors shall be permitted to vend at Site X marked in the map below,” the judgment said.

It added, “Insofar as the Nehru Place District Centre area, except the identified portion above as marked X, the entire Nehru Place District Centre is declared as a ‘No-hawking zone’ and ‘No-vending zone’.”

The authorised vendors listed in Annexure A had until October 12 to shift to the earmarked area. Moreover, after October 12, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had the authority to remove all unauthorised vendors from the area.

The Delhi Fire Services were also instructed to inspect the area after the removal of unauthorised vendors and file a compliance report.

The Delhi Police were also directed to cooperate with the MCD and the DDA to ensure compliance with the judgment. The matter will be listed on November 30 for consideration of the Delhi Fire Services' compliance report.

Petitions

The High Court said that, based on the photographs taken as recently as September 26 and placed on record by both the petitioners and the respondents, there was “no manner of doubt” left that the declaration of the Nehru Place District Centre as a no-hawking and no-vending zone deserved to be confirmed.

The judgment took note of the protection available to certain vendors under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, as well as a recent Supreme Court decision stressing the need to provide workable alternatives to vendors displaced from no-vending zones.

The High Court said, “In terms of the aforesaid decision, if the street vendors are vending in a ‘No-vending zone’, the MCD or the concerned authority has a duty to assist them in moving from a ‘No-vending zone’ to a vending zone, so as to provide the street vendors with a workable alternative from where they can earn their livelihood.”

The Delhi High Court was referring to the Supreme Court’s April 9, 2026, decision, which held that the removal of vendors must be carried out with care, fairness and responsibility, and that authorities should actively assist them in shifting to designated vending zones.

(With inputs from IANS)