HC orders BMC, police to conduct citywide verification of hawkers

A division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata said the exercise must cover all temporary and permanent stalls in the city. The court noted that illegal immigrants were allegedly involved in unauthorised hawking, creating issues for local hawkers, and directed police to take appropriate action, including deportation proceedings where necessary

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and police to conduct a thorough verification of all hawkers and their helpers across Mumbai, including those “alleged to be illegal immigrants”.

Bombay High Court (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

A division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata said the exercise must cover all temporary and permanent stalls in the city. The court noted that illegal immigrants were allegedly involved in unauthorised hawking, creating issues for local hawkers, and directed police to take appropriate action, including deportation proceedings where necessary.

“The BMC and the police shall immediately undertake a thorough verification to identify all individuals, including those alleged to be Bangladeshis or non-Indian nationals, who operate stalls, carry out hawking activities or work as their helpers. If anyone is found to be an illegal immigrant, appropriate action shall be taken in accordance with law, including steps for repatriation,” the court said, warning that failure to act would render concerned police officers personally liable.

The bench also refused to grant a two-week extension on the implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, stating that its implementation had already been delayed and must now be carried out “in letter and spirit”. The court clarified that only hawkers complying with the high court’s guidelines would be permitted to operate.

The directions came while hearing a batch of petitions filed by several hawkers’ unions seeking protection from eviction, along with pleas by the Colaba residents’ association highlighting the issue of unauthorised hawking in the area.

During the hearing, petitioners told the court that a BMC survey conducted on May 1, 2024, recorded 1,28,443 vending applications, of which 99,435 were found acceptable and 2,908 were declared eligible. They argued that eligible applicants are entitled to protection under the law.

However, the Colaba residents’ body disputed the figures, arguing that the large number of accepted applications could not be treated as eligible without proper scrutiny. They told the court that eligibility must include proof of Indian citizenship and that verification was necessary to identify and disqualify non-citizens from hawking activities.