1. Petitioner is a hospital situated in the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. It seeks a writ of mandamus to remove the encroachers, the bunk shops and other temporary sheds used for conducting illegal business on the property of the National Highway Authority adjacent to the hospital.

2. Petitioner alleges that several illegal street vendors have set up their stalls in front of the hospital, virtually blocking or restricting the free ingress and egress of patients, doctors, staff and management of the hospital apart from causing traffic congestion. The obstructions are, according to the petitioner, resulting in accidents, especially when ambulances come to the hospital carrying patients requiring emergency treatment. Petitioner also alleges that various vehicles parked in front of the bunk shops, apart from the illegal businesses being conducted by them and the encroachments made into the pavements of the National Highway, cause a serious threat to the free traffic movement on the National Highway.

3. Though complaints were filed before the Regional Transport Officer and the National Highway Authority, the illegal street vendors have not been evicted. Petitioner alleges that even