CHENNAI POONGANAGAR PERUNTHALAIVAR KAMARAJ INDIRA GANDHI NALA SANGAM Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prayer in the writ petition is to issue a writ of mandamus forbearing the respondents and their subordinates from removing or dispossessing the petitioners petty hawking trade carried on by 152 members of the petitioner Association in various goods at respective places at the edges of the payment commencing right from the space in front of M E.S. Office to the end of space opposite picnic Hotel along the E.V.R. (Poonamallee High Road) Road, Periamet, Madras-600003.

(2.) The petitioner has come up to this court as the Secretary of the Sangam and it is ' registered under the Societies Registration Act. The members of the Sangam are poor hawkers with scant education, who have been subsisting by hawking on the pavement along side E.V.R. Road, beginning from M.E.S. Office upto Hotel Picnic along side E.V.R. Road, Peria met, Madras, all numbering to 152 as on date on the roll of the Sangam. The members of the Sangam are eking on the pavement along side E.V.R. Road, vending and hawking varieties of goods such as ready-made garments, textiles, hosiery, books (old and new), confectionary, soft-drinks, souvenirs, newspapers and fruits and other items of fancy .goods on petty scale, all of them being economically weaker section of the Society, ever since the year 1972. Each of the 152 members has been occupying about 3 x 4 space at the edge of the pavement along side the said E.V.R. Road, wherein they have been hawking varieties of goods on petty scale. The petitioner alleges that the members have been carrying such petty hawking at the edge of the pavement along side E.V.R. Road from 1972, all the 152 members having no other source of livelihood. It is alleged that the respondents came to their said place of hawking on 5th Jan., 1993 and ordered all of them to forthwith vacate their respective places wherefrom they have been hawking the varieties of goods. It is alleged that such a threat is arbitrary and discriminatory, besides infringing the fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution. It is alleged that the threat of removal of the hawkers trade by the respondents without notice or even assigning any reason much less valid reason is against the principle of natural justice and the failure to give notice or assigning proper reasons before threatening to vacate the petitioners petty hawking at the aforesaid place is clear transgression of the procedure established by law and constitutes an act of arbitrariness and violative of Articles 14, 19 (1)(g) read with Art. 21 of the Constitution. With the apprehension that they may at any time be thrown out or forcibly vacated from the place where all the members are eking out livelihood, the petitioner is before this court with the aforesaid prayer.

(3.) When the writ petition came up for admission, I issued notice to the counsel for Corporation, as was told that it is the Corporation, which is threatening to throw out the members of the petitioner.