Sell food on roadside, but can’t cook: High Court

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan while disposing a plea seeking to the remove hawkers, food vendors and encroachers in Luz Church Road, Mylapore, said, “For preparation and cooking of food items for sale, licenses are required under various statutes and thus, persons cooking food items in street, lane-side walk, footpath, pavements or any other public place either from a temporary built structure or moving from place to place have not been included in the definition of street vendor and thus not protected under the provisions of the Street Vendors Act.” 

Holding that only street vendors selling ready food items could be protected, the bench said “In view of the notification of the Town Vending Committee now, necessary surveys can be done for grant of licenses to hawkers and vendors, but of course, there is no question of permitting cooking on the streets.”

The bench on pointing out that a one-time clearance drive cannot solve the problem of hawking on the street, as persons who are habituated to remain in that area will not easily relent, said “The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mylapore and the Assistant Commissioner, Zone 9, Chennai Corporation shall be personally responsible to ensure that there are no violations and action is taken on a day-to-day basis to ensure that pedestrians are not inconvenienced and chaos is not created.”