India, Nov. 28 -- The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed eight appeals filed by stall owners outside Kandivali railway station, holding that the structures were illegal and unauthorised.

Coming down heavily on the appellants, a division bench of justice Milind N Jadhav said, "Time has come to send a strong message to such illegal hawkers and land grabbers that the rule of law prevails in this country. These hawkers never pay taxes, inconvenience the public, litter public spaces, they occupy land belonging to others forcibly and then approach courts to seek due process of law to be followed before evicting them."

The dispute dates back to 1998, when the owners of 27 stalls-labelled "illegal" by civic authorities-formed a society ca...