MAHADEVI Vs. SUB DIVISIONAL MAGISTRATE/REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellants are street vendors operating a small street vending business on four-wheeler carts near the District Hospital on the Kollam Victoria ' District Hospital Road. Street vending in the State of Kerala is regulated by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 ("the Act of 2014") and the Kerala Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood, Regulation of Street Vending and Licensing) Scheme, 2019 ("the Scheme").

(2.) In 2016, when Appellant No. 1 faced eviction from her place of business, she filed W.P.(C) No. 38273 of 2016 before this Court, seeking a direction to restrain the Respondent ' Corporation from evicting her. The writ petition was disposed of by judgment dtd. 13/12/2016 with a direction to the Respondent ' Corporation to finalise the list of vendors prepared by it. In 2020, Appellant No. 2 also faced eviction, and filed W.P.(C) No. 29194 of 2020, in which an interim order was passed by the learned Single Judge on 29/12/2020 directing the Respondents therein not to forcibly evict him.

(3.) Notice of eviction (Exhibit-P6) was issued to the Appellants on 13/8/2024 citing the report of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA). The Appellants filed W.P.(C) No. 29961 of 2024 before the learned Single Judge challenging the said notice and seeking a direction restraining the Respondents from evicting them unless warranted by circumstances, and after providing a suitable alternative site. Before the learned Single Judge, the State submitted that the Appellants are trespassers and are using LPG gas cylinders for cooking near a hospital housing an oxygen plant, which poses a safety risk and causes inconvenience. Considering the submissions of the Respondents, the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition by judgment dtd. 29/11/2024. The Appellants have now filed this appeal under Sec. 5 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958, challenging the judgment of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C) No. 29961 of 2024, dtd. 29/11/2024.