The Madras High Court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not tolerate any suggestions of inability to control hawkers who seek to come back on the pavements. The police cannot express helplessness, the court said, noting that it will show that the law and order machinery is not working.
The First Bench of Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice R. Mahadevan made the observation on a PIL moved by S. Ragu of Vyasarpadi seeking closure of hotels and restaurants till they provide parking space, open space and fire safety facilities within their premises.
Providing a list of 15 hotels located in prime spots in the city, the petitioner said none of them had provisions for parking.
“Instead, they ask their customers to park their vehicles by the roadside, and deploy private security guards to take care of them,” he said.
When the plea came up for hearing, the Bench said, “We have perused the records. The Additional Advocate General stated that car parking space is made available for restaurants though some of them may be at a distance.”
The Bench then posted the PIL to October 6 for further hearing.
