Union Housing Ministry Recommendation For Govt Loan Can't Change Mobile Vendor's Category To Fixed Vendor: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has held that a recommendation issued by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to enable a street vendor to avail loan under a government scheme cannot convert a mobile vendor into a fixed vendor or alter the category specified in the vendor's Certificate of Vending (CoV).
A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Vikas Mahajan observed that the category of vending is governed exclusively by the CoV issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)
The Court was dealing with a batch of petitions filed by street vendors contending that recommendations issued by the Ministry under the PM SVANidhi scheme showed that they had been allotted fixed vending locations.
PM SVANidhi scheme is a micro-credit facility providing collateral-free working capital loans and interest subsidies to urban street vendors.
The High Court held that recommendations for enabling the vendor to avail such loan facilities have no bearing on the category of vending assigned. It observed,
"Any letter of recommendation that may have been issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the purpose of enabling the vendor to avail of loan facilities under the PM SVANidhi Scheme has no bearing on, and cannot affect, the category of vending. The said category of vending shall be governed strictly by the provisional CoV or the final CoV, as may be issued by the MCD."
Examining the petitioners' CoVs, the Court noted that those falling under the category "Others" were required to function as mobile vendors. Consequently, they could not claim a right to operate from fixed locations or carry on vending activities in no-vending or no-squatting zones.
As such, the Court directed that the petitioners must operate strictly as mobile vendors and directed the MCD and the police to remove them if they are found vending in prohibited areas, “so that pedestrian movement is not obstructed”.
Appearance: Mr. H.S. Phoolka, Sr. Adv. alongwith Mr. Jai Shankar, Ms. Nandita Rao, Ms. Surpreet Kaur, Ms. Lochan Rajput, Mr. Asad, Mr. Kartik Goyal, Advs. for Petitioners; Ms. Puja S Kalra, Adv. for MCD. Mr. Ankur Yadav, SPC for R-2.
Case title: Phool Chand & Ors. v. MCD
Case no.: W.P.(C) 9854/2026