MALKIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF U. T. CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are presidents of Manimajra Vyapar Mandal and residential welfare association, Manimajra. The concerned mandal and association have, by their resolution, resolved to file the writ petition on behalf of their members and it is stated in para-1 of the writ petition as quoted under:-

(2.) It is alleged that the vendors, hawkers and squatters are members of mafia and are encroachers. It is also stated that they encroached on the commercial hubs, roads, parks and other public places and adversely affect the business of the petitioners and obstruct the open and free use of the roads, paths and public places. Photographs have been placed which reflect that the hawkers have set up their small shops selling fruits or stalls of water balls (commonly known as golgappa/ pani poori) and cane juice to the people who are coming to the market. There are some hawkers who were shown to be selling vegetables near the roads. These stalls are not in front of any of the shops but against back walls of the buildings. None of them has been impleaded as party to the present writ petition. It would be interesting to note the prayer made in the present writ petition, which is extracted below, and appears to have been encouraged on the basis of certain observations made with reference to encroachments of the shop keepers on the walkways, public paths and corridors by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in CWP No. 19675 of 2019- Rajesh Kumar and others vs M. C. and others vide order dtd. 25/7/2019 directing the administration to ensure that neither any show room owner, shop-keeper or booth owner placed material/ product in front of their premises nor hang the same outside their premises:-

(3.) The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was enacted to protect the street vendors', who are engaged in self-employment which alleviates urban poverty and provides affordable and convenient means of livelihood to majority of population who have shifted to the urban areas through street vending.