Only licensed street vendors entitled to operate, rules Punjab & Haryana High Court

During the hearing, the counsel for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation submitted that the vendor whose licence was cancelled was among 4,003 defaulters who failed to pay installments under a payment scheme approved by the Town Vending Committee on October 7, 2024, and later by the corporation’s General House on November 23, 2024. While 136 vendors deposited the first installment, the remaining 4,003 did not, resulting in the automatic cancellation of their licences and allotments, the counsel said.

The corporation also clarified that vending rights are strictly governed by the 2014 Act and that only those surveyed and registered might be considered for vending licences. It further argued that the petitioners operating inside the Sector 26 mandi fell under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, not the 2014 Act, and that vending activities in the mandi cannot be permitted unless a specific street-vending zone is notified there.

The vendors argued that several of them had been surveyed earlier. They sought reassessment of their cases and issuance of licences, besides a temporary vending space until the shift to Sector 39 is completed. They pressed that their representation to the authorities be decided.

However, the bench held that no mandamus could be issued without the vendors holding valid licences. It observed that street vending is permissible only after the issuance of a vending certificate and the allotment of a site under Chapter II of the Act.

While dismissing the petition, the court granted liberty to petitioner no. 2 to challenge the cancellation of his licence before the competent authority. The remaining petitioners were granted liberty to apply for vending licences under the 2014 Act, subject to the availability of space in notified vending zones.