Temporary relief for hawkers as Calcutta HC halts eviction drives till June 17

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to hawkers by staying eviction drives until June 17 in connection with petitions challenging the removal of alleged illegal occupants from railway land. The court also directed that cases related to hawker evictions from railway land in different areas be heard together. Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya ordered that no eviction action be carried out until the next hearing.

The order came amid ongoing drives by railway authorities to clear alleged encroachments from railway land. Over the past several days, the Railway Protection Force and railway police have conducted operations at major stations, including Sealdah, Howrah and Dum Dum, as well as at several other railway locations.

The matter reached the court following tensions that arose over the demolition of alleged illegal structures and the eviction of hawkers from railway land near Jadavpur station. Affected hawkers approached the High Court seeking relief. During the hearing, counsel Shamim Ahmed, appearing for the hawkers, sought urgent consideration of the matter and requested intervention by the court.

The High Court permitted the filing of the petition and granted an interim stay on the eviction process. The court also noted that multiple petitions challenging eviction notices had already been filed from areas including Howrah, Konnagar and Dankuni. It directed that all such matters concerning hawker evictions from railway land would be taken up together for hearing on June 17.