Judgement

MITTER, J. :- These are seven appeals by special leave from a judgment and order of the Punjab High Court in a Letters Patent Appeal from a judgment and order of a single Judge dated April 7, 1966.

2. The facts in all these appeals bear a close resemblance and these cases were dealt with by a common judgment of the High Court. The facts in Appeal No. 486 of 1967 i. e. Pyare Lal s case, as laid in his petition, may be stated by way of specimen. By his petition dated October 12, 1965 Pyare Lal moved the Punjab High Court for the issue of a writ or direction restraining the New Delhi Municipal Committee from interfering with his right to carry on his trade at the site referred to in paragraph 1 of his petition or, at any rate, without allotting an alternative site to him. He was a seller of potato chops and squatted at a site beside the service lane at the back of a shop off Janpath, New Delhi. There were other squatters who occupied sites in the same service lane. Although in the petition it was claimed that the site was not part of a public street, this was not pressed before the High Court and we will proceed on the basis that as a matter of fact, he was squatting on a public street. He claimed to have been carrying on his trade at the same site from before 1950. He became a member of an association of squatters within the area of New Delhi Municipal Committee known as the New Delhi Rehri Owners Association formed for the purpose of pressing the demands of its members for grant of licenses and other facilities by the said Municipal Committee. Reference is made in the petition to assurances said to have been given by the President and Vice President of the Municipal Committee to the association in 1956 for giving the members of the association certain protection on conditions. It is said that the Vice-President of the Municipal Committee gave an assurance that if the squatters formed themselves into an co-operative society for preparation of edibles and built trolleys of specified designs and agreed to carry on their trade at places allotted, licenses would he issued to them. In response to this, a co-operative society was formed and the Health Officer of the Municipal Committee informed the association of the sites which had been approved by the Municipal Committee for the purpose. Before the licences could be issued, the office bearers of the Municipal Committee were changed and the new incumbents sought to go back upon the assurances given by their predecessors. After a long spell of contest and uncertainty the then President of the Municipal Committee made a press announcement in May 1963 that all squatters and stall-holders within the area of the New Delhi Municipal Committee who had been squatting or holding stalls since 1957 would be granted licences for the same. This was followed by a survey of all squatters and a list of them including the petitioner was prepared. On December 20, 1963, the New Delhi Municipal Committee passed a resolution for the grant of licences to these squatters. The relevant portion of the same is as follows :-

"1. Temporary tehbazari permits would be issued to verified squatters/hawkers.

2. The hawkers/squatters would be required to sit at the site as might be specifically allotted by the committee and during such hours as might be prescribed.

3. The tehbazari fee would be charged from such squatters at the rates given in the scheme prepared by the SVP (senior Vice President) dated 22nd July, 1962.

4. The squatters should be required to pay three month s tehbazari fee in advance before the issue of the temporary tehbazari permit.

5 * * * *

6. The conditions of the tehbazari permit as mentioned above were approved subject to the condition:

(a) Condition No. 7 be deleted.

(b) The word licencee shall be substituted by "hawkers/squatters".

(c) The last condition would be as suggested by the L. A. in his note dated 20th December, 1963.

7 The selection and allotment of sites would be done by a sub-com