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Chandigarh: HC frowns on plea against street vendors, orders welfare cell for them
The petition, prime facie, appears to be a motivated petition with a view to use the legal forum for evicting and destabilising the local business of street vendors; we cannot allow such abuse of process of law, the HC bench said while dismissing the plea
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) to establish a vendors’ cell for ensuring their welfare and preventing genuine vendors from getting harmed.
The high court bench of justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and justice Meenakshi I Mehta passed these directions while dismissing petitions from Manimajra Vyapar Mandal and a Residential Welfare Association (RWA) in Manimajra. The court also slapped a cost of ₹50,000 on each, which would be deposited to the MC for being used for the welfare of street vendors and their families.
“The petition, prime facie, appears to be a motivated petition with a view to use the legal forum for evicting and destabilising the local business of street vendors. We cannot allow such abuse of process of law,” the bench said while imposing the cost and dismissing the plea.
The petitioners said they have residential houses and shops/ booths in the area in question. However, inaction by the authorities in removing encroachments by street vendors from public paths, roads and public property has created nuisance and caused traffic hindrances in their free use, ultimately affecting their businesses.
The court observed that even 12 years after the apex court had asked for taking steps for the welfare of street vendors, there had been an attempt, through this petition, to evict vendors who have been admittedly carrying out vending since long in the area in question. The court was also informed that Manimajra was a village earlier. It now has a local market where street vendors have been selling food items for long.
“Before we close the case, we are of the firm view that street vendors and their families, who are depositing fee with the MC for the certificate being given to them for vending, also need to be provided some social protection. The amount so recovered by the MC should, therefore, be used for their benefits alone and should be kept in a separate budget head, as a suitable insurance for them, including medical facilities, should be provided by the MC and rules in this regard should be framed,” the court observed.
The court added that it has alsonoticed that the benefits of the Street Vending Act, which were meant for genuine street vendors, are being “misused by a certain set of persons”. Moreover, wrongful means are being adopted to get names lodged in survey registers for illegally getting sites meant for hawkers. Such misuse of law deserves to be dealt with an iron hand and a will to execute the provision of law with integrity and dutifully is required at the hands of authorities.
“We cannot close our eyes to the fact that there is an elite class still following the Britishers, who looks down upon their own countrymen doing small businesses and treats them as if they are mafias as stated in the present petition, or encroachers, who cause chaos in commercial hubs,” it remarked, adding that the judiciary has to rise above “Such form of impressions, which such elite class carries”.
“Gone are the days when we had British judges, sitting in courts looking at justice to be delivered for people who rule. We are a country, who are now having homogenous class of Indians. A tribal lady from a remote village can now be the President of India and a worker from the grass root level may reach up to the highest echelons of the administration,” the court said.
