Karnataka HC backs GBA footpath drive, seeks report on vendors act
Karnataka High Court refuses to interfere with GBA's Safe Footpath Campaign, seeks status report on Street Vendors Act implementation by December 3.
The Karnataka High Court on Friday declined to intervene in the Greater Bengaluru Authority's (GBA) Safe Footpath Campaign, observing that the initiative is intended to guarantee pedestrians an unobstructed walking space on city footpaths.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha was hearing a public interest litigation filed by R. Rajgopalan, a former corporate board advisor and environmentalist from Bengaluru. The petition raised multiple concerns regarding footpaths, including the welfare and livelihood of street vendors.
While the bench ordered notice to the government on the petitioner's plea for effective implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, it refused to entertain the plea against the manner in which the Safe Footpath Campaign is being executed. The court noted that the campaign is designed to ensure pedestrians have a dedicated space to walk.
The bench also recalled that in earlier proceedings pending adjudication, the court itself had issued directions for clearing encroachments on footpaths.
In a related directive, the bench asked the government to submit a status report on the implementation of the Street Vendors Act. The matter has been adjourned for further hearing until December 3.