Mumbai, March 23 The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the city's civic body and police to conduct a thorough verification of the identity of all street vendors and their helpers, including those alleged to be from Bangladesh.
The court stated that if any person is found to be an illegal immigrant, appropriate action, including deportation, shall be taken by the relevant authorities.
The order was passed by a bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata in response to a series of petitions raising concerns about unauthorized and illegal street vendors occupying sidewalks and roads in the city, causing obstructions for pedestrians and vehicles.
The court ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to conduct a comprehensive inspection and scrutiny of all vendors (both temporary and permanent stalls) located on roads and sidewalks. The authorities shall determine whether these stalls obstruct pedestrians or vehicular movement, the HC added.
"The BMC and police shall conduct a thorough verification of the identity of all persons, including those alleged to be from Bangladesh or other non-Indian nationals, who operate stalls or engage in vending or hawking activities or work as assistants to street vendors," the HC said.
If any such person is found to be an illegal immigrant, appropriate action shall be taken in accordance with the law, including steps for deportation by the relevant authorities, it added.
The court noted that approximately 99,000 individuals have been found to be eligible to engage in street vending, and therefore, the BMC is directed to permit them to do so strictly in accordance with the guidelines.
"No other street vendors, other than the 99,000 already found eligible, shall be permitted to engage in street vending, provided they strictly adhere to the guidelines. All others shall be removed immediately," the HC said.