The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Mumbai Police to conduct a “thorough verification” of all street vendors in the city and take action against those found to be undocumented migrants, Bar and Bench reported.

A division bench of Justices Ajay S Gadkari and Kamal R Khata was hearing a group of petitions alleging that undocumented migrants were undertaking “illegal hawking”, The Indian Express reported.

The direction came against the backdrop of several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states rounding up thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers since May and asking them to prove that they were Indian citizens – and not undocumented immigrants.

In several cases, workers have been declared foreigners within days and forced into Bangladesh, despite being Indian citizens.

The court stated that the authorities should verify the identities of all street vendors, including “those alleged to be Bangladeshis or non-Indian residents, nationals who operate stalls or carry on vending or hawking activities or work as assistants or helpers of such stallholders, vendors or hawkers”.

In case any person is found to be an undocumented immigrant, “appropriate action shall be taken in accordance with law, including steps for repatriation by the competent authorities”, the bench added.

It warned that officers who fail to take necessary steps will face punishment, Bar and Bench reported

The bench also refused a request by the vendors’ counsel to extend the stay on implementing the 2014 Street Vendors Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act, according to The Indian Express.

The implementation had already been delayed by seven years, said the court.

The counsel representing street vendors had sought a two-week extension on the stay to allow a challenge before the Supreme Court.

In February, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said he had “launched a campaign” in Mumbai for a “hawker-free city from Bangladeshi vendors”.

Somaiya has been conducting meetings to clear encroachments in areas that he claimed are occupied by Bangladeshi vendors, such as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market, Kurla and Ghatkopar.

Separately, in her speech after taking charge as the mayor of Mumbai, Ritu Tawde had said that her administration would focus on removing “illegal Bangladeshi hawkers” from the streets of Mumbai.

On February 28, Maharashtra minister Akash Fundkar said that the state government would soon direct online food and quick-commerce companies to ensure mandatory police verification of “delivery partners” and gig workers.

Speaking in the state Assembly, Fundkar had noted that companies such as “Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, Zepto and Amazon, amongst others, have appointed delivery partners without proper police verification”, which raises concerns about the safety of women, elderly citizens and other vulnerable groups.

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