Punjab & Haryana HC grants interim relief to Gurugram street food vendors, saves them from eviction
Chandigarh: The Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently passed an order granting interim protection to various street food vendors who operate their food vending carts in Sector 56, Gurgaon.
The High Court was direct the authorities that the status quo be maintained with respect to operating the vending carts.
The street vendors were represented by a noted law firm Kochhar & Co.
It’s alleged that the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) was threatening to cancel the licenses and evict the street vendors who were operating their vending carts in Sector 56 market, Gurgaon. It was the contention of the street food vendors that they were the sole bread earners of their families and are being harassed by MCG officers despite having valid certificates and licenses for operating their carts.
It had been alleged in the petition that identical showcause notices were issued to many food cart vendors in Sector 56, Gurgaon in an arbitrary manner and without application of mind. It had also been alleged that no opportunity of hearing was granted to the street vendors after the show cause notices and therefore their licenses should not be cancelled and/or they should not be evicted without following the due process of law.
It was alleged that in a meeting held on 21.03.2022, the MCG officers had threatened to cancel the licenses of the petitioners and remove their vending carts on 25.03.2022.
In view of the urgency and the threat, the petitioners moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court by way of a writ petition being C.W.P. No. 6173 of 2022 on Friday i.e. 25.03.2022 and obtained an order directing that status quo be maintained in relation to operation of their vending carts.
Representing Kochhar & Co, the petition was drafted by Advocate Krishna Vijay Singh and argued by Advocate Manish Dembla with the assistance of Advocates Nachiketa Goyal and Pragya Sharma.
