Chandigarh Street Vendors Notification of 2020 expanding essential service providers quashed by Supreme Court after COVID purpose ended.
Case Name: Malkit Singh and Anr. v. State of U.T., Chandigarh & Ors.
Citation: 2026 INSC 663
Date of Judgment/Order: 1 July 2026
Bench: Sanjay Karol, J. and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, J.
Held: The Supreme Court held that the Chandigarh Administration’s Notification dated 17.07.2020, which expanded the definition of “Essential Service Providers” under the Street Vendors Bye-Laws, 2018 and extended vending hours, had outlived its object, purpose and utility since it was issued during the extraordinary COVID-19 period. The Court quashed the said notification and directed that the earlier notification would govern the field, while also emphasizing that regulation of street vending must balance removal of unauthorised encroachments with fairness, rehabilitation, livelihood protection and adequate relocation support for licensed vendors.
Summary: The matter concerned regulation of street vending in Chandigarh, relocation of vendors to identified vending zones, cancellation of vendor licences, pending appeals, and the continuing problem of unauthorised encroachments. The Municipal Corporation informed the Court that there were 10,939 registered vendors, numerous anti-encroachment drives had been conducted, approximately 5,400 challans had been issued, 6,881 licences had been cancelled for non-payment of instalments, and several appeals and grievance applications were pending. The learned amicus curiae expressed concern that challans alone would not solve encroachment, mass cancellation could seriously affect livelihoods, and the expanded COVID-era definition of “Essential Service Providers” had become unsustainable. The Court accepted the need for a practical and outcome-based framework and issued directions for operational vending zones, basic public amenities, signage, publicity, smart cards, CCTV cameras, helplines, and time-bound disposal of pending vendor applications and appeals.
Decision: The Supreme Court quashed the Chandigarh Notification dated 17.07.2020 expanding the definition of “Essential Service Providers” and restoring the earlier notification as governing the field. The Court directed that recently identified vending zones be made operational at the earliest, amenities be provided and maintained, public awareness measures be undertaken, smart cards be issued expeditiously, CCTV cameras be installed within six months, and pending applications or appeals be decided within sixty days, with future applications or appeals to follow a thirty-day outer limit subject to the Street Vendors Act, 2014 and applicable bye-laws. The Court directed filing of a compliance affidavit by 22.07.2026 and listed the matter for 24.07.2026 at 2:00 P.M. before the same Bench.