HC prevents GIDA from installing kiosks on Queen’s Walkway

A view of the Queen’s Walkway in Kochi. The Supreme Court said that GIDA should have earmarked space for kiosks at the design stage instead of reducing the width of the footpath. | Photo credit: Thulasi Kakkat

The Kerala High Court has banned GIDA from installing or operating kiosks on the Queen’s Walkway in Kochi, observing that kiosks and footpath vendors encroach on pedestrian space and force pedestrians onto the roads, endangering their lives.

Bechu Justice Kurian Thomas ruled that the issue of allowing kiosks should have been considered at the time of designing the pavement by setting aside specific areas or decks outside the footpath. Even at the time of the sale of the adjacent plots of land, GIDA did not consider it necessary to provide space for kiosks. Only subsequently did the authority allow the construction of kiosks by reducing the width of the sidewalk, the court noted.

The order came following a petition by the Tritvam Apartment Owners Association and its president, who argued that the Goshree Islands Development Authority’s (GIDA) decision to add 20 more kiosks along the Queen’s Walkway would change the residential character of the area, overburden civic infrastructure and worsen traffic congestion.

The court observed that Goshree-Chathiyath Road, where the pavement is located, does not fall within the sales zone. Communication therefore falls into a prohibited zone according to the Street Sales Act, and street vendors, including kiosks, are not allowed on the footpath. Noting that the right to life and personal liberty includes the right to walk freely without hindrance, the court held that sidewalks cannot be used for commercial kiosks. Such kiosks on the Queen’s Walkway would impede free access and thereby affect the basic rights of pedestrians, the agency said.

Published – 24 Jun 2026 08:43 IST