What happened

Bengaluru’s civic bodies carried out a short Safe Footpath drive after the Supreme Court recognized the right to walk on safe, obstruction-free footpaths as a fundamental right. The drive removed many street vendors and cleared encroachments, and the legal question is whether those removals respected the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.

Background and earlier position

The Street Vendors Act, 2014 was enacted to regulate street vending, not abolish it. Street vending is treated as a legitimate occupation protected under Article 19, while regulation in public interest is also permitted. The law therefore seeks to balance two interests: pedestrians’ right to obstruction-free footpaths and vendors’ right to livelihood.

Statutory process under the Act

The Town Vending Committee is the key decision-making body. The committee includes officials, police, planning authorities, residents, and street vendors, with vendors required to form at least 40% of the membership and to include women and marginalized communities.

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