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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court recently observed that merely because the public is tolerant and fed up of complaining to the civic authorities it does not mean that the suffering of the public is reduced.

“Merely because the members of the public are tolerant or possibly fed up with complaining any more to the civic authorities does not reduce the magnitude of this problem or their immense sufferings,” the order reads.

The division bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice MS Sonak and Justice Kamal Khata, was hearing suo moto Public Interest Litigation concerning illegal hawkers on the footpaths.

The high court also noted that there is no place for people to walk on the footpaths and the pedestrians are forced to navigate between the unauthorised hawkers and the haphazardly parked vehicles, to commute.

“..the hawkers and street vendors have virtually taken over the street lanes and bye lanes. There is no place for people to walk on the footpaths. There is the problem of haphazard parking. The pedestrians are thus forced to navigate between the unauthorised hawkers and the haphazardly parked vehicles, to commute. The monsoons and the failing drainage or sewage infrastructure compound this problem even further,” the order states.

The high court recorded that The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014 (“Street Vendors Act 2014”) was passed 10 years ago which proposes to strike a balance between the interests of the hawkers and the public so that the licensed hawkers can undertake their trade without causing too much inconvenience to the public.

The high court said that the public cannot be made to wait endlessly and keep tolerating this intolerable situation. Enacting a law but not implementing it seriously is worse than not enacting it.

The bench observed that it is also the police officer’s duty to to keep the place free from hawkers or street vendors unless licensed.

“The record, unfortunately, bears out that the State and the authorities have miserably failed. Apart from the BMC, which bears a primary duty, the Police authorities are responsible for assisting the BMC in the implementation of the laws and Court directives. Once a hawker or street vendor is removed from the place, it would be the duty of the Police to keep the place free from hawkers or street vendors (unless they are licensed). The law is not only for the BMC but also for the Police. A judgment passed by the Court must not be required to be read out to each police officer for its implementation. They must know it. It is law, and they are the guardians of it. They have a duty to implement the law and Court directives. The police and the BMC must act in tandem and cooperate with each other,” the order states.