PALIKA BAZAR SHOPKEEPERS WELFARE ASSOCIATION AND ORS vs GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

Judgment text excerpt

$~44 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 5th February, 2026 Uploaded on: 9th February, 2026 + W.P.(C) 151/2026 & CM APPL. 762/2026, CM APPL. 7844/2026 PALIKA BAZAR SHOPKEEPERS WELFARE ASSOCIATION AND ORS .....Petitioners Through: Mr. Sanjeev Ralli, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Mohit Mudgal Mr. Ravi Kant Yadav, Mr. Chetanya A. and Ms. Nivedita Sharma, Advs. versus GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Sriharsha Peechara, SC for NDMC Mr. Aditya Bharat Manubarwala, ASC, Mr. Tushar Sannu, ASC with Mr. Soumit Ganguly, Ms. Ishika Jain, Ms. Ravicha Sharma, Ms. Shruti Agarwal, Mr. Akash Sharma, Ms. Tanishka Grover, Ms. Charvi Virmani, Advs. for NDMC Mr. Vikram Kumar Yadav, Joint Director Enforcement (Mobile No. 9015235420) Mr. Bibhuti Bhushan Mishra with Mr. Dhruv Chauhan, Ms. Niharika Punn. Mr. Himanshu Mishra, Mr. Shivam Mishra, Mr. Rahul, Mr. Siddharth Gupta and Mr. Anubhav Gupta, Advs. for intervenor. CORAM: JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH JUSTICE MADHU JAIN Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral) 1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. Signature Not Verified Signed By:RENUKA NEGI W.P.(C) 151/2026 Page 1 of 14 Signing Date:09.02.2026 19:40:38 2. The prime locality of Connaught Place including Palika Bazaar is the subject matter of this petition. As always, the two stakeholders who have competing interests are the shopkeepers on the one hand and street vendors on the other. 3. A scheme had been prepared by the New Delhi Municipal Council (hereinafter, ‘NDMC’) way back in 2007 namely, ‘Scheme for Street Vendors in N.D.M.C Area’, declaring the areas namely, Connaught Place, Connaught Circus (i.e., Rajiv Chowk and Indira Chowk) as No-hawking and No vending areas. The relevant portion of the said scheme reads as under: “Non-vending areas:- 4.2 In view of the