The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a contempt petition filed by residents of Kamathipura against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), holding that illegal hawkers cannot be summarily evicted without following due legal procedure.
A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad clarified that even encroachers enjoy certain civil rights in law. “Even if a person illegally comes into possession of a piece of land, he acquires certain civil rights. He can’t be summarily removed without following due process in law. Having regard to this, we are not inclined to entertain this contempt petition,” the bench observed.
On December 21, 2023, the High Court had directed the BMC to act against illegal encroachments in Kamathipura’s lanes if residents submitted a representation within two weeks. Petitioners, led by Dharma Vallakati, claimed they approached the BMC on time but no action was taken. After waiting for three months, they moved a contempt plea, accusing the civic body of ignoring the court’s earlier directions.
The petitioners argued that hawkers had illegally occupied the area’s narrow streets, designated as a “no-hawking zone,” for 7–10 years. They said the hawkers’ makeshift shops blocked roads and restricted residents’ movement. Their counsel even suggested deploying a surveillance van to prevent re-encroachment.
The bench, however, noted that expecting complete removal of hawkers within three months was unrealistic given the scale of encroachment. It further pointed out that the December 2023 order had been passed without hearing BMC’s response and that the law requires adherence to principles of natural justice before eviction.
The judges referred to a Supreme Court ruling from December 2023 in an unrelated matter, which underscored the need for fair procedure during evictions. This included proper demarcation of the encroached land in the presence of those likely to be affected.
The earlier bench headed by then Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya had acknowledged that hawkers had extensively encroached pavements and pathways on SP Road between the 1st and 16th lanes of Kamathipura, causing severe inconvenience to residents and pedestrians. It had directed the BMC to act on residents’ complaints “with promptness.”
