The Supreme Court’s five-judge bench in Sodan Singh v. New Delhi Municipal Committee distinguished the concept of life and liberty within Art.21 from the right to carry on any trade or business, a fundamental right conferred by Art. 19(1)(g), and held that the right to carry on trade or business is not included in the concept of life and personal liberty. In the case of trade and business, Article 21 is not applicable.
The petitioners, hawkers operating on Delhi’s unpaved roads, claimed that the Municipal authorities’ refusal to allow them to conduct their livelihood business constituted a violation of their constitutional right under Article 21. According to the court, while hawkers have a fundamental right under Article 19(1) (g) to carry on commerce or business of their choice, they do not have a right to do so in a specific location. They cannot be allowed to conduct their business on every street in the city. If the road is not wide enough to accommodate the traffic on it, hawking may be prohibited entirely or only once a week.
Footpaths, streets, and highways are all considered public property and are not designed for private use. However, the court stated that affected individuals could ask for relocation, and that the concerned authorities would assess the representation and issue orders accordingly. The two rights were too remote to be connected together.
The court distinguished the decision in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, holding that “in that case, the petitioners were very poor persons who had made pavements their homes, existing in the midst of filth and squalor, and that they had to stay on the pavements in order to get odd jobs in the city.” It was not a case of starting a business selling articles after investing some money.”
In Secretary, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi, the Court rejected that right to employment at the present point of time can be included as a fundamental right under Right to Life under Art. 21.
Written by : Rishav Raj, 4th Semester BBA.LL.B. , RNB Global University
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