The Tanti ice-cream vendor operating at St George’s Bay was not prima facie acting against the law, a judge has ruled.

Last week, the Lands Department was stopped from evicting the vendor from his regular slot after the court provisionally upheld the owner’s request for an injunction.

The vendor had claimed that the department’s actions were illegal because the eviction notice only gave it the legal power to evict people who did not have a title to the land or who were illegally encroaching.

He had pointed out that he was not occupying land but simply parked his ice-cream van in the early morning, thus avoiding traffic, and drove home late at night once the traffic calmed down.

Also, he was very careful when he set up and dismantled his van because the traffic around the bay was very busy. However, he insisted that the slot where he regularly parked was in a legal parking area.

The mobile kiosk was an important source of his earnings especially during the summer months, owner Carmelo Tanti said.

Mr Tanti argued that he was not breaking any law especially because he had the necessary street hawker’s licence. He also said he had a permit from the St Julians local council to have a generator, which was not being used.