Homeless people are humans, can’t order their eviction from footpaths: HC

The HC said the homeless people are also humans and the court cannot treat them differently and it was for the authorities to find a solution, rather than the court passing any orders evicting them.

The Bombay high court on Friday refused to pass orders in an interim application filed by the Bombay Bar Association (BBA) in a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL), which deals with unauthorised stalls and vendors occupying footpaths thus making it difficult for pedestrians to use the road spaces.

Homeless people sleeping under pillar on a cold winter night. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

The BBA application had sought orders to remove the homeless persons, who occupy and sleep on the footpaths around the high court building and Flora Fountain area and accommodate them in night shelters.

The HC said the homeless people are also humans and the court cannot treat them differently and it was for the authorities to find a solution, rather than the court passing any orders evicting them.

“The problem of homeless people is global. There are problems in New York, Washington, Paris etc. They need shelter. You are asking - act, remove them, where are they to go? Are you saying the city must get rid of the poor?” remarked the court while declining to pass orders.

The HC, however, permitted BBA to file a separate PIL on the issue of homeless people.

The division bench of justice Gautam Patel and justice Neela Gokhale, while hearing the suo motu PIL seeking removal of unauthorised vendors occupying footpaths and sidewalks, was informed by senior advocate Milind Sathe that the interim application was filed by BBA on the issue of homeless people.

Sathe submitted that various letters were addressed to the concerned police stations and BMC ward offices, but the problem was not solved and therefore BBA was constrained to file the interim application and seek the HC’s intervention.

The interim application was filed in the suo motu PIL instituted by the HC while it was hearing a petition of two shop owners from Borivali (E). The shop owners had complained of the unauthorised vendors and stalls that had come up outside their shops. The court had stated that there was a larger issue of consequence for the entire city and had directed the petition to be converted into a suo motu PIL.

While highlighting the problem raised in the interim application, Sathe submitted that homeless people were using footpaths to sleep and hence, the concept of night shelters on the lines of Delhi should be implemented in Mumbai as well.

However, the bench was not moved by the submissions and said, “The issue of homeless persons is a global one. They might be poor or less fortunate, but they are human beings and that makes them to be on the same footing as everybody else before us in court. They have rights.”

On a sarcastic note, the bench suggested that the authorities should start constructing a metro station in the concerned areas to remove everyone, including homeless people from the localities. “Construction goes on for years. Start digging and everyone will go away. No one gets to use the footpath then. No pedestrian can walk on it...no car can drive there...no one can live on it. Problem is over. It is an ideal solution.”

Reverting to the interim application the bench said the issue raised in it was distinct from that of suo motu PIL and was not within the scope of the original petition and hence, refused to pass any orders on it.