Hawkers permitted to operate in markets only in accordance with policy: SC

A hawker has no right to insist that he may be permitted to keep his goods and wares at the place of hawking overnight, the Supreme Court has said.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna said hawkers can be permitted to hawk in markets only in accordance with the hawking policy.

"The prayer before the high court was that the petitioner, who is a hawker in the Sarojini Nagar Market, be permitted to leave his goods and wares at the place of hawking overnight. The said prayer has been rightly rejected by the high court," the court said.

"The petitioner, being a hawker, has no right to insist that he may be permitted to keep his goods and wares at the place where he is hawking overnight," the bench said.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by a hawker in the Sarojini Nagar Market challenging an order of the Delhi High Court.

The hawker had sought directions from the high court to the New Delhi Municipal Council seeking to permit the appellant-hawker to leave the goods overnight at the spot where he hawks during the day.

The high court noted that the prayer sought by the hawker goes against the very concept of hawking to permit him occupying any given area on a permanent basis.

"The whole concept of hawking is that the hawker comes to the allotted/demarcated area during the hours of hawking with his or her goods and wares; undertakes the activity of hawking and leaves the area along with his or her goods and wares at the end of the hawking period. In fact, in respect of mobile hawkers even this much is not permitted," the high court had said.