HIGHLIGHTS
✅ Supreme Court Vacation Bench heard the urgent application.
✅ Relief granted to street vendors operating in Qutub Institutional Area.
✅ Corpus Juris India team reached the site and provided legal assistance.
✅ MCD assured the Court that no coercive action would be taken without following due process of law.
✅ Supreme Court recorded the assurance and disposed of the application.
BRIEF BACKGROUND
The matter arose after concerns were raised regarding an eviction and enforcement drive against street vendors operating in Delhi’s Qutub Institutional Area. It was alleged that officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, accompanied by police personnel, had reached the site and action was being initiated against vendors.
Considering the urgency of the situation, members of the Corpus Juris India team, including advocates and interns, reached the site and provided legal assistance to the affected vendors. Thereafter, an urgent application was moved before the Supreme Court Vacation Bench in the pending proceedings seeking protection against coercive action and ensuring compliance with due process.
KEY OUTCOME
During the hearing, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi informed the Supreme Court that any future action would be undertaken strictly in accordance with the procedure established by law and that no coercive action would be taken against the petitioners except in accordance with legal requirements.
Recording the assurance given by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Supreme Court disposed of the application.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ORDER
The order provides important interim protection to street vendors operating in the Qutub Institutional Area and reinforces the principle that public authorities must follow due process before undertaking demolition, eviction, or enforcement actions.
The case highlights the importance of judicial oversight in safeguarding the rights and livelihoods of street vendors while ensuring that statutory authorities act strictly in accordance with law.