Rights of Hawkers: A Study under the Indian Legal Framework

Abstract

Hawkers form an integral part of the urban economy. Majority of the population depends on hawkers for affordable goods and services. Hawking constitutes a sizable proportion of the informal sector and creates opportunities for entrepreneurship and self-employment. It is not only considered as a source of self-employment to the poor in cities but also an ‘affordable’ as well as ‘convenient’ means of livelihood to majority of the urban population. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2017-2018, there were around 11.9 million hawkers in India of whom it is the women who constitute a larger portion of these hawkers. Despite such a massive population being engaged in such occupation, hawking is characterised by uncertainty, extortion, and low standards of regulation. Therefore, it is necessary to observe whether these hawkers have been granted with any rights under the Indian legal framework. The study, therefore, focuses on the rights granted to the hawkers under the Constitution of India and under various legislation of India. It also examines those remarkable judicial pronouncements which uphold the rights of the hawkers. Special significance is given to the national policies framed by the Government of India to protect the interest of the hawkers. The study analyses the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. At the last but not the least, the study also focuses on the recent issues and challenges faced by the Government to address Covid-19 impact on the hawkers and provide some suitable suggestion to this respect.