Overview
- Responding to complaints Tuesday, a bench sent two lawyers with police to inspect the CST–Flora Fountain stretch and they reported most areas clear but flagged Colaba Causeway as a serious hotspot.
- The judges faulted officials for passing the buck on enforcement and asked, “Where will the common man go?” after noting vendors vanished from Flora Fountain during the check.
- The court asked Mumbai Police for a written action plan to keep illegal hawkers from returning and fixed the next hearing for April 28.
- The bench directed BMC and police to verify the identity of every vendor and helper, check for illegal immigrants, and take lawful action including repatriation, warning officers of personal liability for inaction.
- Separately, the court set rollout deadlines across Maharashtra with Town Vending Committee elections due in four months and a uniform vending scheme in six months, as the state formed a 12‑member panel with a one‑month deadline to fix gaps in its 2017 policy that omitted key parts of the 2014 law.