Mumbai: Taking serious note of the menace of illegal hawkers, the Bombay High Court asserted that the common man has fundamental rights that cannot be compromised. The court reprimanded the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the police for their failure to curb illegal hawking and emphasized the need for urgent action to address the issue.
The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue while hearing a 2022 petition by mobile shop owners in Borivali, who claimed that access to their shops was blocked by illegal hawkers. The court has since been monitoring the actions of the state, the BMC, and the police regarding various complaints against the “hawkers menace”.
During the hearing on Thursday, advocates Mihir Desai and Gayatri Singh, appearing for some of the hawkers whose stalls were demolished, urged the court to decide on the issue of election of Town Vending Committee (TVC), which decides on the guidelines about the implementation of hawkers policy. Singh said that a lot of authorised hawkers too were facing harassment due to absence of TVC, which is affecting their rights to conduct business.
A bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata remarked: “If you have fundamental rights, the common man also has fundamental rights. There is – presumption that the government will implement the policy. There is no question of restoration of the demolished structure.”
Counsel for Bombay Bar Association, Janak Dwarkadas, submitted photographs showing hawkers operating on streets near the High Court. In a particular case, the hawker had put up a stall on the road, which was obstructing vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
The judges asked a police officer present in the court to inspect the location, however, the said hawker was not present on Thursday.
The court also took note of hawkers displaying fake licenses or stickers to evade eviction, with stalls encroaching beyond footpaths and obstructing streets. It observed, “The chaos persists because authorities are not enforcing the law effectively. We cannot allow illegality to perpetuate.”
The court criticized both the BMC and the police for turning a blind eye to the situation. While BMC officials claimed to remove hawkers, the court observed that the hawkers returned shortly thereafter, with the police failing to ensure compliance. The bench stated, “There is a failure of both agencies to implement the law. If necessary, why don’t you (police) call for additional force?”
The court noted the chaotic state of major areas like Andheri, Malad and Kandivali, where streets and footpaths are regularly blocked. “Let’s go beyond Churchgate. North side (suburbs) is a complete chaos. It is impossible to travel in places like Malad, Kandivali and Andheri. It is impossible for people to walk across the street. There is no street. They are taken over by hawkers,” Justice Kamal Khata lamented.
The bench directed the BMC to file an affidavit within four weeks, detailing a list of authorized hawkers in South Mumbai, and kept the matter for hearing on January 15.
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