CHENNAI: In a reprieve to the thousands of flower vendors of Badrian Street in Flower Bazaar, the Madras High Court on Tuesday ruled that such flower traders cannot be evicted from the Flower Bazaar if they carry out retail trade. However, the court also said that if any wholesale trade is carried outside the market area, then the local authority can initiate action against those involved in it.
The issue relates to several hundreds of petitions moved in the HC following the declaration of Koyambedu Flower Market as the designated wholesale market for flowers and other perishable items in 1996. The vendors moved to the Koyambedu flower market for wholesale trading, however, some of them still remained in the Bazaar.
A full bench comprising Justices R Mahadevan, N Seshasayee and G R Swaminathan also made it clear that once a market area is earmarked and notified and declared under the TN Specific Commodities Markets Act, then wholesale trading in the specified commodity shall be and can be carried on only in the market area and not outside it.
In its order, the court said, “If any person continues to carry on the wholesale trade in respect of any specified commodity outside the market area, then the local authority is obliged to ensure that the activity is discontinued. But, if the individual is ready to mend their ways and agrees to confine themselves to retail trading or if they propose to shift their trade to non-specified commodities, then the local authority cannot continue to keep the premises under lock and seal.”
HC orders notice to State, HR&CE department
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered notices to the State and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to respond to a plea seeking eviction of all types of encroachments from Arulmighu Palani Andavar temple in Perambur.
The two-member bench comprising Justices R Subbiah and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup ordered notices on the plea moved by G Devarajan, a resident of Perambur. According to the petitioner, Anandheeswarar Temple and Palani Andavar Temple in Perambur, which are several decades old and under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, own lands whose worth is pegged at around Rs 1,000 crore. The petitioner stated that many encroachers had registered the temple lands in their names by creating fake documents. The bench directed notices to the HR&CE department and the State before adjourning the plea by four weeks.