Strike balance: HC to review vendors Act

NEW DELHI: Underlining the need to balance various rights, Delhi High Court on Monday decided to put to legal examination the validity of Street Vendors Act that it found to be "tilted" in favour of vendors.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh asked all stakeholders to remain prepared to begin arguments in connection with various facets of the Act and the rules that flow from it.
The court pointed out that often it was said that Delhi must become like London but without focusing on planning, it couldn't be achieved. The bench also acknowledged that in a mega city such as Delhi, street vending gave employment to several from the poorest strata of society, but reiterated that even those who went to markets or rent shops had rights that can't be ignored.
"You can't even walk in places like Connaught Place and Nehru Place, where vendors have occupied spaces and set up permanent business...we had to take suo motu cognisance of the fire incident at Nehru Place because the condition is like a slum. There is a need to decide on how many vendors can be permitted in such markets," the bench orally observed, listing the batch of petitions challenging and supporting the Act for hearing on October 30.
The court also clarified that it wasn't against street vendors but wanted to ensure everyone's rights were respected and there was no overcrowding due to them.
It had earlier flagged certain provisions of the law governing street vendors, saying they "tilt the balance" in favour of vendors at the expense of planned development of cities and indicated it would seriously consider the issue.
The court had said the Act needed to be examined in light of "possible infringement of fundamental rights of the citizens who live in any city, or town, particularly, under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, while hearing petitions on squatting rights and setting up a town vending committee (TVC) in various places in the capital.
It also highlighted how the "representation of the various authorities tasked with the task of local administration, including the municipal administration, police administration, public works department, etc, all put together is less than 50%" in the TVCs.
In a sense, the street vending committees appear to be heavily loaded in favour of the street vendors, the court had observed giving its prima facie view that "the scheme of Street Vendors Act and the rules framed thereunder greatly tilts the balance to encourage street vending".