The high court on Friday issued an interim stay on the eviction of hawkers from the approach road to Howrah station.
The bench of Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya directed railway authorities to give the hawkers an opportunity to present their cases.
The stay will be in force till June 10, when the matter is scheduled to be heard again.
More than 100 stalls on the road leading to Howrah station were demolished during an eviction drive conducted between the night of May 16 and the early hours of May 17. A payloader was used to raze the stalls in the joint operation carried out by the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police and Howrah City Police.
RPF sources said the operation at Howrah had been conducted once so far.
Similar drives have been carried out at Sealdah and several other stations. Friday’s order pertains only to Howrah station.
Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, senior advocate and counsel for the petitioners, told the court that the hawkers had not been given an opportunity to present their case before the demolition. He said the eviction was unilateral.
Bhattacharyya argued that the evicted hawkers had paid rent to the Hooghly Nadi Jalpath Paribahan Samabay Samity, a cooperative formed during the Left regime, to run their businesses. He produced rent receipts in court.
Railway officials expressed surprise. “How can a cooperative have any jurisdiction here? They can allow a hawker to sell wares near a ferry ghat or on a jetty. But they have no right to restrict access to one of the busiest railway stations,” a railway official said on condition of anonymity.
During Friday’s hearing, Bhattacharyya also said that the cooperative had informed railway authorities about the licences issued to the hawkers. He said the hawkers also had trade licences and GST registration certificates.
Representatives of the cooperative have been directed to remain present during the hearing to be conducted by the railways. The court also asked railway authorities to prepare a report after the hearing and submit it before the next date.
The chief public relations officer of Eastern Railway declined to comment, saying the matter was sub judice and that he had not yet seen the order.
Many passengers said the stalls had obstructed free movement near the station and that the premises appeared cleaner after the demolition.
Opposition parties in Bengal accused the government of destroying livelihoods by importing bulldozer culture.
Several hawkers said they were facing severe financial losses and were uncertain about their future.
This is the second stay order issued by Calcutta High Court on a demolition drive carried out by authorities under the new BJP government. On May 15, the court stayed the demolition of two buildings in Tiljala after lawyers for the owners argued that no advance notice had been served. Three people had died in a fire at a leather unit in one of the buildings on May 12.