Delhi High Court: A petition was filed by CJ International Hotels Ltd. (petitioner) a company engaged in the hospitality business and operates a five-star hotel under the name “The Le Meridien being aggrieved by the refusal / inaction on the part of the respondents in renewing the Eating House License and Lodging License. Sachin Datta, J., directed respondent 1 and 2 to process the petitioners’ application for renewal of these licenses without insisting on a Health Trade Licence and further restrained the respondents from taking any coercive action against the petitioners until the next date of hearing. The matter was directed to be listed on 05-08-2025.
The petitioners approached the Court being aggrieved by the refusal and inaction of the concerned authorities primarily Respondents 1 and 2 in renewing the Eating House License and Lodging License of Petitioner 1, who operates the renowned Hotel Le Meridien, located at Windsor Place, Janpath, New Delhi. In essence, the dispute arose from the respondents’ insistence on the production of a valid Health Trade Licence issued by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) as a mandatory prerequisite for renewing other licenses such as the Excise License and the Eating House and Lodging Licenses.
Petitioner 1 had earlier been aggrieved by the cancellation of its Health Trade Licence and had already challenged the same in a petition, in which an interim order dated 28-07-2017 stayed the impugned cancellation. This stay was confirmed to be subsisting, and the court had acknowledged in multiple past proceedings that the pendency of this litigation should not hinder the petitioners from operating their hotel business or renewing their licenses.
Despite the continuing subsistence of the interim protection granted, the respondents once again denied the renewal of the Eating House and Lodging Licenses for the current operational year. The refusal was grounded solely on the absence of a renewed Health Trade Licence even though the Health Trade Licence cancellation remained stayed and earlier renewals had been granted in its absence. This led the petitioners to file the present petition seeking immediate directions to ensure that their business operations were not unjustly disrupted.
The Court noted with concern the repetitive and unjustified insistence by the respondents on the production of a Health Trade Licence even though this exact issue had been resolved in multiple prior judicial pronouncements. The Court specifically recalled that the interim stay on cancellation of the Health Trade License was still in force. The past renewal of licenses by the respondents, year after year, considering the same stay order, demonstrated a consistent administrative precedent. The respondents had not disputed the subsistence of the stay or the prior renewals despite the absence of a Health Trade License. The continued insistence on the Health Trade License under such circumstances amounted to a blatant disregard of binding judicial orders, and such administrative arbitrariness could not be countenanced.
The Court was also persuaded by the need to uphold business continuity and fairness, especially in the hospitality sector, which is heavily regulated and vulnerable to licensing bottlenecks.
Thus, the Court issued the following interim directions:
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Respondents 1 and 2 are directed to process the petitioners’ application for renewal of the Eating House License and Lodging License without insisting on a Health Trade License.
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Respondents are restrained from taking any coercive action against the petitioners until the next date of hearing.
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The respondents were granted four weeks’ time to file their reply.
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The matter was listed for further hearing on 05-08-2025.
[CJ International Hotels Ltd. v Joint Commissioner of Police Licensing, W.P.(C) 4870/2025, decided on 17-04-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Mr. A. S. Chandiok, Sr. Adv., Mr. Shiv Sapra, Mr. Vishal Singh, Mr. Aviral Tripathi, Mr. Tanpreet Gulati, Advocates for petitioner
Mr. Sandeep Tyagi, SPC and Mr. Aaksh, GP for R-1 and 2. Ms. Harshita Nathrani, Adv. for Mr. Sameer Vashisht, SC, GNCTD for R3 and 4.
