In Brief
Six street vendors in Mumbai had their food and pan stalls demolished by the Municipal Corporation on a claim they were illegally erected on a public sewer line without the required permission. Though licensed by the Corporation for health purposes, the vendors obtained a High Court order for restoration. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that Section 314 of the Municipal Corporation Act empowers the Commissioner to summarily remove unauthorised structures without notice. The Court found the health license was irrelevant to the legality of the structure itself. No statutory obligation exists to provide alternative sites or compensation for unauthorised demolitions.
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