Mumbai: Bombay High Court on Friday sought to know from the BMC whether a domicile certificate is required for hawkers in Mumbai, observing that those who conduct business on the streets must have it.
Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata were hearing petitions by hawkers’ unions that challenged the town vending committee elections on the ground that over 70,000 out of 99,435 hawkers, identified in a 2014 survey, were excluded and only 22,000 were verified voters for elections held last Aug. Supreme Court had stayed the declaration of the results. Their advocate informed that one of the four criteria for exclusion as a verified voter included non-possession of a domicile certificate.
“You must have a domicile certificate. Can anybody come and do business (hawking) in this state without a domicile? As other states require domicile certificates, this state must also have it,” said Justice Gadkari. The judges enquired about other states having the domicile criteria and whether there is a uniform hawking policy.
They asked the BMC’s advocate to show hawking policies of other states. They also sought to know from the BMC how the number of voters got reduced and how much time it would take to complete the election if they were to be held afresh. Seeking the BMC’s response, they posted the next hearing on Feb 24.