The Delhi High Court on Thursday has granted a 7-month extension to a catering stall operator (“Petitioner”) at Prayagraj Chheoki Railway Station, rejecting the objection of Railways (“Respondent”) that the case should have been filed in Allahabad instead of Delhi.
Justice Mini Pushkarna observed that since the Railway Board in Delhi frames catering policies applicable across India, the Delhi High Court had jurisdiction to hear such matters.
The petitioner sought an extension on parity with earlier cases where courts had granted relief to vendors for the “dies non” COVID-19 period when stalls remained closed. The Railways, however, opposed the plea, arguing that the vendor began operations after the COVID period and had approached the Court belatedly.
The court has rejected Railway’s stand, noting that similar extensions had been granted by this Court as well as the Supreme Court, and saw “no reason to take a different view”.
Accordingly, the vendor’s license was extended till April 2026, subject to payment of license fees and filing an undertaking to vacate after the extended term. The Court clarified that this does not prevent the Railways from issuing fresh tenders once the extension expires.
Cases Relied On:
Sadeek Ali vs. Union of India and Ors., W.P.(C) 2953/2025
M/s B.H. Catering vs. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) 1460/2025
Appearances:
For Petitioner: Mr. Akshat Bajpai, Mr. Shobhit Trehan, Ms. Vedika Dalmia, Mr. Renuka Parmanand and Ms. Jayashree Mishra, Advs. (Through VC)
For Respondents: Mr. Nune Balraj, SPC for UOI with Ms. Meghna Rao and Mr. Harshit Goel, Advs.
