140 Vijayawada street vendors without certificates evicted from Besant Road after a High Court order
Acting on a public-interest petition by shop owners, the High Court on 4 February 2026 directed Vijayawada's municipal commissioner to ensure only licensed vendors operate on Besant Road. Officials found only 90 of 257 hawkers held vending certificates. On 7 July 2026 the corporation began evicting the rest; officials said 140 were removed on the first day.
This page records what the cited court, tribunal and government records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →Unlicensed vendors evicted from Besant Road from 7 July 2026; an alternative zone was offered.
What happened
Shop owners on Besant Road, one of Vijayawada's main shopping streets, filed public-interest petitions complaining of congestion. On 4 February 2026 a bench of Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Challa Gunaranjan directed that 'only those vendors who are earlier licensed to conduct their vending operations would be permitted', and directed the commissioner to act, with police help if required. It noted that eviction or relocation of a street vendor requires 30 days' notice under section 18(3) of the Street Vendors Act.
The Hindu reported, citing officials of the corporation's town-planning department, that only 90 of the 257 hawkers identified on the road had valid vending certificates. Show-cause notices were issued in April and eviction orders in June. Vendors were offered an alternative vending zone on C.K. Reddy Road, which many refused, saying there was no market there.
The eviction began on 7 July 2026 amid protests; officials said 140 hawkers were evicted that day. A lemon seller of 30 years told The Hindu she would 'not earn even half' at the new site.
What the High Court directed
“only those vendors who are earlier licensed to conduct their vending operations would be permitted strictly in accordance with their licenses in the zones for which the said licenses were issued.”
W.P.(PIL) No. 81 of 2025, order dated 4 February 2026, para 2 — read the full text
Selling without a certificate
The vendors' offence was trading without a vending certificate. Shopkeepers' complaints of congestion are real, but the remedy was to remove the livelihood of everyone without the right paper.
What we could not confirm
The numbers of vendors and the eviction come from officials quoted by The Hindu, not from an official document we have seen. The corporation's notices and eviction orders have not been located online.