New Delhi: Delhi High Court has asked MCD and NDMC to issue seizure memos to street vendors within 24 hours of confiscating their goods, and to videograph the entire process.In a recent order, a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan specified that the seizure memos should mention the date of the seizure, a list of goods taken away, shelf numbers where they are kept, penalty or fine, if any, which is to be paid and the details of the officer who did the seizure.The court acted on a PIL connected to MCD and NDMC‘s seizure of goods from street vendors who violate rules.The petitioner organisation, Rehri Patri Ekta Manch, said that whenever such seizures are done, no memo is prepared by MCD or NDMC and the list of goods seized is also not given to the vendors. Only a receipt for the fine is issued in the evening after the seizure is done, the plea said.The civic agencies said the usual process is that the seizure is done at a particular point and if the officials prepare the seizure memo on the spot, other vendors get to know about it and they escape the seizure despite committing violations. Keeping this in mind, the seizure is first done, and in the evening a seizure memo is prepared along with the fine receipt and handed to the vendors, the counsel said.NDMC also said a warehouse is maintained by the authorities for storing the seized goods. When the vendor pays the fine, the goods are released to him, the counsel for the agency said, adding that videography or photography of the seizure are also done, depending upon the available resources.The court stressed 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.“Accordingly, considering the difficulties expressed by the authorities… 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.
