Delhi HC seeks MCD`s response over ban on sale of food items in open

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from three civic bodies on a plea seeking quashing of a notification to ban sale of edibles and beverages including sugarcane juice and cut fruits in the open on unlicensed shops. A bench of justices B D Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul issued notices to North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and fixed the plea for hearing on August 5. The civic body had imposed the ban on sale of such food items for six months from April 1 in areas under the jurisdiction of three municipal bodies. The court was hearing the PIL filed by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) alleging that the public notices were issued "arbitrarily, without any relevant material in place and the same is ultra-virus to the parent statutory provision under the DMC Act." The notice said that during the summer and rainy season Delhi experiences outbreak of cholera, the plea added. It further submitted that the public notices are "vague in nature and give unbridled power in the hand of municipal authorities", which are liable to be misused against street vendors dealing in food and drink articles. The plea said that the notices issued by the respondents is illegal, arbitrary and will lead to the violation of the fundamental rights of the vendors. "Notifications prohibiting sale of any food and drink article which is exposed to dust and flies is vague and arbitrary," the petition stated. The petitioner sought the court`s direction to prohibit the Corporation from implementing public notices restraining sale and preparation of sugarcane juice and other food articles and beverages by street vendors.