Meghalaya High Court Lays Down Directions For Eviction Of Hawkers From Shillong's Police Bazar Area

The Meghalaya High Court recently passed a series of directions regarding eviction of hawkers from the police bazar area in Shillong.

The division bench of the Chief Justice I.P. Mukerji and Justice W. Diengdoh passed the following directions:

1. Senior Advocate Subhasis Chakrawarty is appointed as Special Officer.
2. Under the Special Officer and in consultation with the General Secretary, Hawkers' Association, the local and police authorities will prepare a list of authorised or licenced vendors which are stated to be around 349.
3. The other vendors vending goods in police bazar identified similarly as (ii) above will be treated as those without licence. The Special Officer along with the General Secretary of the Association, the local and police authorities will see to it that these unlicenced vendors do not vend any kind of goods in the above area.
4. The licenced vendors shall be allowed a limited number of days and a limited time each day, from 12.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. to vend merchandise in the place they are vending now, subject to the undertaking given by the Association General Secretary through the learned counsel that those licenced vendors shall not exceed the time limit and move out of the area to ensure that there is no disruption in traffic flow or human movement. If there is breach, then the Special Officer along with the local and police authorities shall not allow any vendor to sell merchandise in the said area.
5. The General Secretary of the Association also undertakes to the Court and shall ensure that as and when the alternative vending place is provided by the local authority to any vendor, he will immediately shift. If he does not then he shall be liable to be evicted from the place of vending immediately.
6. The other hawkers shall be free to make applications before the appropriate authorities to obtain a valid licence which may be considered by those authorities in accordance with law. On obtaining a report from those authorities regarding those applications this Court will consider taking further action regarding them.

The said directions were passed by the Court while hearing a PIL involving identifying street vending areas, relocating areas permitted to be used for street vending, regulation of traffic in general, allocating and relocating parking spaces, clearance of as much road area as possible to allow free movement of vehicles and overall implementation of policies and plans to make the capital of Meghalaya-Shillong region, a modern, clean and well administered city.

During the hearing on July 3, The Court was informed by the Counsel on behalf of the Hawker's Association that in the guise of enforcing our order dated June 12, 2025, the local and police authorities are forcibly evicting hawkers from the police bazar area without observance of the due process of law.

The Court was further informed that the eviction drive is allegedly carried on without providing alternative vending space to these hawkers.

The Advocate General denied the said allegation and submitted that an alternative vending area has been allocated for these hawkers but they refuse to move from the police bazar area.

Therefore, after hearing the parties the Court passed the above directions.

“Above all, the Special Officer with his vast knowledge, experience, maturity and tact shall ensure that our orders in this public interest litigation are implemented without any breach of peace or commission of any offence,” the Court said.

The Court also directed the Special Officer to file a report containing subreports by local and police authorities by August 5.

Case Title: Philip Khrawbok Shati v. State of Meghalaya & Ors.

Case No.: PIL No. 17 of 2021

Click Here To Read/Download Order