Bombay HC Criticises 'Collapse Of State Machinery' Over Illegal Hawking, BMC And Mumbai Police Under Fire

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court’s strong comment about “the collapse of state machinery” over illegal hawking in Mumbai has left the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai Police officers’ heads down in shame. The case being heard by the high court has a long history of almost four decades which went till the Supreme Court and is now again back in the Bombay High Court.

After the BMC and state sought more time to file affidavits stating the action taken by them against illegal hawkers and steps to prevent the same, the Bombay High Court came out strongly against the authorities suggesting a need to find a solution to the issue. Notably, the comment was made in a suo-moto cognizance of the issue while hearing a petition by Atul Vora.

Kandivali-based Atul Vora had first filed the petition in the Bombay High Court in 1985 against the illegal hawkers sitting outside his shop and the court had passed an order directing the BMC to constitute hawking and non-hawking zones in 1988. However, the order was challenged in the Supreme Court by the hawkers and the court directed the government to frame a national policy in 2004.

However, after the constitution of Street Vendors Act, as the framing of hawking policies was taking too long, the hawkers again took the issue to the Bombay High Court demanding leniency in hawking everywhere until the rules were framed. However, the court denied the hawkers’ demand directing them to act according to the order passed by the Supreme Court.

Vora has been a central figure in the issue of illegal hawking straight from 1985 until two months ago when he passed away. During his 39-year-long journey of fighting against illegal hawking, he has pursued the case from high court to the Supreme Court and was even assaulted by hawkers at multiple instances during his fight for justice.

Jamshed Mistry, the advocate appearing on behalf of Vora since 2004, told The Free Press Journal, that, “Vora was somebody who fought for his own area and his demands were very clear that the hawkers should not be allowed inside the non-hawking zones. His major concern was that the police were not filing FIR in the matters related to hawkers. It is a fact that the authorities were supposed to frame a scheme for the hawkers but it has not been able to.”