Section 42

The Commissioner may require itinerant hawkers or any class of itinerant hawkers to be licensed on such terms and conditions, for such periods and on payment of such fees as he may think fit.

The Commissioner may classify itinerant hawkers according to the nature of goods they sell or in such other manner as he may determine.

Except as provided in subsection (4), no itinerant hawker may stop for a period longer than is necessary to complete his sale or to recover his glasses, bowls, dishes, crockery or other utensils after serving food or drink.

The Commissioner may, subject to such conditions as he may think fit, permit licensed itinerant hawkers to occupy stationary positions for such period or periods as he may think fit in such site or sites as may, from time to time, be approved by him for this purpose.

The Commissioner may, with the consent of the Minister and subject to such conditions as he may think fit, specify the streets, premises, places or areas, or parts thereof, in which persons shall not act as itinerant hawkers.

Any person who —

Notwithstanding subsection (6) or any other written law for the time being in force, any police officer or any public officer who, having effected an arrest in accordance with this section, is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested, may, in his discretion, instead of taking him before a Court or to a police station serve upon the person a notice, in such form as may be prescribed under section 144, requiring the person to attend at the Court described at the hour and on the date specified in the notice.

For the purpose of satisfying himself as to the identity of the person arrested, such police officer or public officer may require the person arrested to furnish such evidence of identity as he may consider necessary.

A duplicate of the notice referred to in subsection (7) shall be prepared by the police officer or public officer, as the case may be, and by him, if so required by a Court, produced to the Court.

On an accused person appearing before a Court in pursuance of such a notice, the Court shall take cognizance of the offence alleged and shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (6).

If a person upon whom such a notice has been served as aforesaid fails to appear before a Court in accordance therewith, the Court shall thereupon issue a warrant for the arrest of that person.

Upon a person arrested in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (11) being produced before it, a Court shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (6) and shall at the conclusion of such proceedings call upon him to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to attend in compliance with the notice served upon him and if cause is not shown may order him to pay such penalty not exceeding $2,000 as the Court thinks fit or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding 2 months.

Any cooked or uncooked food, drink, articles or goods of any kind, together with their containers and any accompanying appliances and utensils, exposed for sale in any street or place, otherwise than in a shop, whether or not they appear to be abandoned, belonging or appearing to belong to or in the possession of a person appearing to be committing or to have committed an offence under subsection (6), may be seized by any police officer or public officer authorised as aforesaid and removed to and detained at any police station or Government depot or such other place as may be approved by the Commissioner at the risk of the owner to abide the directions of a Magistrate’s Court:Provided that any cooked or uncooked food, drink or perishable articles or goods likely to decay so seized and removed may be disposed of forthwith.

If any articles or goods so seized and detained, other than cooked or uncooked food, drink or perishable articles or goods already disposed of, are claimed within 48 hours after such seizure by the owner thereof, being a person licensed or otherwise lawfully entitled to set up or sell such articles at the place at which they were seized, the articles or goods shall be returned to the owner.

Every such seizure shall, except when the articles or goods seized have been returned to the owner, be reported to a Magistrate’s Court.

The Magistrate’s Court shall, on convicting any person of an offence under subsection (6) or on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles or goods which were apparently being used in connection with the sale of food or drink, order the property seized under subsection (13) to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court thinks fit:Provided that if the Court directs the sale of such articles or goods, the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on convicting a person of an offence under subsection (6) or on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles or goods which were not apparently being used in connection with the sale of food or drink, order the property seized under subsection (13) to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court thinks fit:Provided that if the Court directs the sale of such articles or goods, the proceeds or such part thereof as the Court thinks fit shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund and the balance, if any, paid to the owner.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on convicting any person under subsection (6), order his photograph to be taken by a police photographer or other photographer. Any such photograph may be preserved and may be produced to any Court for the purpose of establishing identity on a subsequent conviction.

For the purposes of this section and any regulations made under this Act for the control of hawkers, “itinerant hawker” means any person who, with or without a barrow, cart, bicycle, tricycle or other vehicle, whether or not any of the same is propelled by motor, goes from place to place or from house to house carrying for sale or exposing for sale any food, drink or goods of any kind.[43