Street vendor seizures: Delhi HC mandates memos within 24 hours, videography by MCD

The Delhi High Court has asked the MCD and NDMC to issue seizure memos to street vendors within 24 hours of seizing their goods, and to videograph the seizure process.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan said the seizure memos should mention the date of seizure, list of goods seized, shelf numbers where they are kept, penalty or fine if any to be paid and also the details of the officer concerned.

The court passed the order on September 10 on a public interest litigation relating to seizures made by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) of goods of street vendors, in cases when there are any violations by the vendors.

Vendors raised concerns over seizure process

Petitioner organisation, Rehri Patri Ekta Manch, raised the grievance that whenever such seizures are effected, no seizure memo is prepared by the MCD and NDMC and the list of goods seized is also not given to the vendors.

Only a receipt for payment of fine is issued in the evening after the seizure is effected, the plea said.

The counsel for MCD and NDMC submitted that the usual process is that the seizure is done at a particular point in time and if the officials concerned prepare the seizure memo on the spot, other vendors get to know about it and they escape the seizure after committing violations.

Accordingly, the seizure is effected first and in the evening, seizure memo is prepared along with the fine receipt and handed to the vendors concerned, the counsel said.

Court asks MCD to record seizures

NDMC counsel further said that a proper warehouse is maintained by the authorities for storing the seized goods and the vendors’ goods are put in particular shelves and the respective shelf number is also given in the receipt issued to them.

On payment of the fine, the goods are released to the vendors concerned, he said adding videography or photography of the seizure is also done by the officials, depending upon the available resources at the particular time.

The high court, in its order, noted that both MCD and NDMC are expected to follow Section 19 of the Street Vendors (Protection of livelihood and regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, which requires that upon a seizure being carried out, the list of goods seized ought to be prepared and a copy has to be given to the vendor.

“Accordingly, considering the difficulties expressed by the authorities that if seizure memos are prepared on spot, other vendors who are in the area tend to escape action, the MCD and NDMC are permitted to issue seizure memos, in accordance with law within an outer limit of 24 hours from the seizure,” it said.

The court said the MCD should carry out videography and photography while carrying out seizures like the NDMC.

Court seeks faster TVC-II process

Regarding the constitution of the Town Vending Committee (TVC)-II, the MCD counsel submitted that 23 TVC members have been elected as of now. The list of nominated or designated members from the various zones is awaited and upon the receipt, the names should be forwarded to the Delhi government for notification of the TVC-II, he said.

The court said the process be expedited as quickly as possible and disposed of the petition.