High Court Halts Eviction of 15 KR Market Street Vendors Until August 31

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to 15 street vendors operating around Bengaluru's Krishna Raja (KR) Market, directing civic authorities not to evict them until August 31.

Justice BM Shyam Prasad, who heard the petition filed by the vendors, ordered that no coercive or precipitative action be taken against them in the interim. The court also directed the Joint Commissioner of the Bengaluru Central City Corporation to clarify whether the petitioners could continue vending from their existing spots.

The vendors moved the High Court to challenge an eviction drive launched under the ‘Safe Pedestrian Path Campaign’, which commenced across Bengaluru’s reorganised City Corporations on July 1.

The interim protection comes with strict conditions. The court ordered that vendors must not erect any temporary or permanent structures at their current spots and must ensure unobstructed movement for ambulances, fire engines, police vehicles, and other emergency services.

Justice Prasad asked the Joint Commissioner to review photographs submitted to the court and report whether the vendors can remain at those locations. The civic official must also clarify whether the petitioners are eligible to participate in a proposed survey exercise.

During the proceedings, the court sought details regarding the nature of the vending spots, questioning whether they were located in open spaces, quadrangles, or on footpaths, and whether their presence hindered emergency vehicles.

Advocate Angad Kamath, representing the vendors, stated that the petitioners had been operating in open spaces around KR Market and had received vending licences in 2017. Although the licences have expired, counsel argued that the vendors are entitled to renewal or relocation under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, and the Karnataka Street Vendors Scheme, 2020.

The petitioners contended that they cannot be evicted before their renewal applications are decided and before a statutory survey is carried out to constitute a Town Vending Committee. The High Court scheduled the matter for its next hearing on August 31.