Sudhir Kumar Jha vs. Chairman, Town Vending Committee and Ors.
Background
The petitioner, a street vendor with 90% locomotor disability, had been vending for years near Akshardham Metro Station but was not being allowed to vend peacefully, and the traffic police had also seized his goods. The Court had earlier directed his goods be returned and asked the municipal corporation (MCD) to identify a suitable vending spot for him. MCD said it could only allot him a "mobile" vending slot (not a fixed spot), and police objected that his usual location fell within a National Highway Authority no-vending zone with heavy traffic.
Decision Breakdown
The Court held that a person with 90% locomotor disability simply cannot be expected to operate as a mobile, moving vendor, and that under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and related Supreme Court rulings, "reasonable accommodation" must be made for disabled workers, including street vendors. As an exception, the Court permitted him to be a stationary vendor and directed MCD's Assistant Commissioner to identify a suitable non-highway location for him within two weeks, while noting that the newly-formed Town Vending Committee would still need to set a general policy for disabled vendors going forward.
Lesson Learnt
A rule requiring all street vendors to be "mobile" cannot be applied rigidly to someone who is physically unable to move around: disabled citizens are legally entitled to reasonable accommodation rather than a one-size-fits-all rule that effectively shuts them out.