Abstract
Socio-legal analysis distinguishes itself from more conventional modes of legal reasoning by eschewing an excessive focus on the content of law and instead emphasising a) the motivations of social actors engaging in legal mobilisation; b) legal procedures; and c) bargaining in the shadow of law. In this retrospective essay, I analyse the 30-year period of judicial intervention in street vending governance in two cities—Mumbai and Chennai—beginning in the 1980s and culminating in the passage of the Street Vendors Act 2014 by Parliament. I demonstrate that the above analysis can provide a possible explanation for the limited success of judicial intervention in balancing security of tenure for street vendors with other competing interests. Further, I identify certain continuities in both the substance and the process of street vending governance between the old regime under judicial supervision and the new regime under the Street Vendors Act. I therefore argue that breaking the impasse in street vending governance requires not just the creation of new planning and dispute-resolution forums (as conceived by the Street Vendors Act), but also new political and regulatory processes that mark a clear departure from the earlier period.
Custom Citation
Karthik Rao Cavale, 'Street Vendor Politics and Legal Mobilisation in Metropolitan India: A Retrospective View' (2023) 19(2) Socio-Legal Review 20.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.55496/OXVH6430
