Punjab & Haryana High Court Defends Street Vendors, Says “A Tribal Lady Can Now Be The President Of India” While Criticising Elitist Attitude
The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a petition filed by two associations seeking removal of street vendors from Manimajra, Chandigarh. The Court strongly condemned the elitist mindset that treats small vendors as encroachers or mafia.
Punjab: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected a plea seeking removal of street vendors and hawkers from Manimajra, Chandigarh.
The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi I. Mehta strongly criticised the elitist mindset that looks down upon small vendors and workers trying to earn an honest living.
The case was filed by the Presidents of the Manimajra Vyapar Mandal and a Residential Welfare Association, who claimed that street vendors were creating chaos in commercial areas by setting up stalls on roads and parks, blocking access, and negatively impacting local businesses.
The petitioners alleged that these vendors, selling items like fruits, golgappas (pani poori), and cane juice, were part of a “mafia” and had illegally encroached on public land.
Advocate Hardip Singh appeared for the petitioners, while Advocate Sanjiv Ghai represented the respondents.
Dismissing this argument, the Bench said that the petition appeared to be an attempt to use the court to displace small traders and disrupt their livelihoods. The judges emphasised the importance of equality and inclusivity in modern India.
The Court remarked:
“The Judiciary has to rise itself above from such impressions which such elite class carries. Gone are the days when we had British Judges sitting in Courts, looking at justice to be delivered for people who rule. We are a country, who are now having homogenous class of Indians. A Tribal lady of a remote village can now be the President of India, and a worker from the grass-root level may reach up to the highest echelons of the administration.”
The Bench added that:
“There are scores of examples of such employees who are presently working on various posts and are ably helping in the administration as well as Judiciary in the country. Even in the Judiciary, we have had examples of persons who worked as Munshis/Clerks with lawyers and rose upto the level of Chief Justices.”
They also criticised the mindset of some privileged individuals who still behave like colonisers:
“There is an elite class still following the Britishers, who looks down upon their own countrymen doing small business and treat them as if they are mafias or encroachers who cause chaos in commercial hubs.”
The Court acknowledged that Manimajra, which was earlier a village and is now a part of urbanised Chandigarh, has always had a vibrant street market. The vendors have been selling food and other items there for a long time.
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It said:
“… there is an attempt through this writ petition to evict the vendors who are admittedly carrying out vending since long in the area where the members of the union falls. We are told that Manimajra, which has been now included as part of urbanized area of U.T. Chandigarh and was earlier a village of Chandigarh, has local market with the street vendors selling their food items, etc. since long.”
The Court called on the authorities to support street vendors rather than remove them. It highlighted that these vendors pay fees to the Municipal Corporation and deserve some level of social protection in return.
“The amount so recovered by the Municipal Corporation should, therefore, be used for their benefits alone and should be kept in a separate budget head, and as a suitable insurance for them, including medical facilities, should be provided by the Municipal Corporation, U.T. Chandigarh, and Rules in this regard should be framed.”
However, the Court also acknowledged that some people misuse the Street Vendors Act, such as shopkeepers who set up hawker stalls in front of their own shops to increase their income.
“At the same time, a certain group of people use wrongful means to get their name entered in the survey registers and illegally get sites registered for hawkers purposely. Such misuse of law deserves to be dealt with by an iron hand and a will to execute the provisions of law with integrity and dutifully.”
To curb such misuse, the Bench suggested the formation of a special cell under the Municipal Corporation to regulate and monitor vending activities:
“The Municipal Corporation, U.T. Chandigarh, should accordingly set up a particular cell of Inspectors/Officers to regulate that there is no misuse of the Vendors’ Act so that genuine people may not be harmed.”
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In strong words, the Court indicated that the petition was an abuse of the legal process:
“The petition, prima facie, appears to be a motivated petition with a view to use the legal forum for evicting and destabilizing the local business of the street vendors. We cannot allow such abuse of process of law.”
The High Court dismissed the Writ Petition and imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 each on the two Unions who filed it. The amount must be deposited with the Municipal Corporation, U.T. Chandigarh and used for the welfare of street vendors and their families.
Case Title- Malkit Singh and another v. State of U.T. Chandigarh and others
