IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Sr. No. 252-2 CWP-29314-2023 Date of decision : 02.04.2026 M/s ESS ESS Caterers .…. Petitioner Versus Union of India and others ..... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK SIBAL HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE LAPITA BANERJI Present : Mr. N. P. Bhardwaj, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Mr. Ravi Sodhi, Senior Panel Counsel with Ms. Bhavna Thakur, Advocate, for the respondents- UOI.

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DEEPAK SIBAL, J. (Oral)

1. Through this petition the petitioner seeks issuance of a direction to the respondent-railway authorities to grant renewal to the licences of four mobile catering units/stalls being run by the petitioner at various platforms of the Amritsar Railway Station.

2. The facts, in brief, are that the petitioner is a sole proprietorship concern which, since the year 2009, is running four mobile catering stalls at various platforms of the Amritsar Railway Station.

On 29.01.2016, in Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, South Central Railways and others vs. S. C. R. Caterers, Dry Fruits, Fruit Juice Stalls Welfare and another-(2016) 3 SCC 582, the Supreme Court declared that only those licensees, who are providing catering services at rail