Non-veg food vendors file petition in Gujarat HC against ban by municipal body

Street food vendors from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city have filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court after their handcarts were seized by the municipal corporation, PTI reported on Thursday.

On November 9, Rajkot Mayor Pradeep Dav had ordered that street vendors selling non-vegetarian food be evicted, claiming that such dishes hurt religious sentiments. Vadodara and Ahmedabad municipal corporations had also cracked down on the stalls selling meat and egg dishes by the roads after residents complaint about foul odour.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation town and estate planning committee decided to remove all non-vegetarian carts from street side. As many as 6,000 food cart operators in the city who sell meat, eggs and other non-vegetarian products are set to lose their livelihood.

The petitioners states that they are already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic. Further, the petition filed by the vendors points out that the mandate lacks implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, in Gujarat, PTI reported. The vendors have said that selling non-vegetarian food on the streets does not harm anybody’s rights.

“A vegetarian might find [the] consumption of non-vegetarian food offensive whereas a vegan might find [the] consumption of milk, cheese and honey as offensive,” the petition said. “As long as a person doesn’t violate any law, he/she must be free to sell anything under the right to livelihood guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.”

The petition further states that there is no embargo on selling eggs or other non-vegetarian in the Constition. Under what law is the mandate based. This is nothing but bigotry.” The petition further argues that while restaurants are allowed to sell non-veg food, it is only the street vendors who are hrt by this law.

Talking about religious sentiment the petition states that while people can get their sentiments hurt, others have a right to employment and earn a living.