Patna High Court: A Division Bench comprising of Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Anjana Mishra, JJ. hearing a letters patent appeal, permitted a group of street vendors to make a representation regarding removal of their stalls before the Nagar Parishad.
Appellants were street vendors whose stalls were situated by the side of Nagar Parishad office near the Bazar Samiti of Khagaria. A notice was issued calling upon them to remove their stalls and locate them inside the Bazar Samiti of Khagaria in order to remove traffic congestion on road. Appellants challenging the said notice in a writ petition before this Court contending that since they were paying rent regularly to the Nagar Parishad, they were entitled to no disturbance in running their stalls/shops. The said petition was dismissed stating that a statutory efficacious alternative remedy was available for their grievance. Hence, the present appeal.
The Court noted that under the Bihar Municipal Act, 2007, Nagar Parishad had the power to rent out, lease or sell any commercial infrastructure. The Act empowers it to take appropriate action with regard to maintenance or settlement of its property in accordance with law.
Therefore, notices issued to the appellants were subject to powers being exercised by Nagar Parishad. It was stated that there was no express provision for an alternative statutory remedy, as indicated in the impugned judgment.
In view thereof, appellants were permitted to represent their cause before the Empowered Standing Committee or the Chief Municipal Officer of Nagar Parishad, and the concerned authority was directed to dispose of any such representation expeditiously.[Md. Shamshad Alam v. State of Bihar, 2018 SCC OnLine Pat 2257, decided on 18-12-2018]