Uber, Ola May Shut Down? Bombay HC Found Them Operating Without Valid Licenses

Bombay High Court has ordered ride-hailing apps UIber and Ola to apply for valid licences in Maharashtra by March 16 or shut down operations after they were found to be running their operations without them, calling it an instance of ¡®complete lawlessness.¡¯

Uber

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The directions were passed after hearing a PIL filed by advocate Savina Crasto who highlighted the lack of an effective grievance redressal mechanism for customers using the Uber India app.

In an incident experienced by her, Crasto revealed how she was once dropped in the middle of nowhere at a ¡°shady dark place¡± when she discovered that the company has no effective way to lodge complaints against drivers.

In previous hearings, HC had found that the Maharashtra government was yet to approve specific guidelines to issue licenses and regulate operations of such platforms.

Even though the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines were issued by the Central government to regulate such platforms, those in the state were operating on permits issued to them under Maharashtra City Taxi Rules, 2017.

CJ Datta on Monday stated that this arrangement was unacceptable and was in breach of law, ¡°What are you (Maharashtra government) doing? This is complete lawlessness. You are not following the law. The law is very clear that so long as the state government does not have Rules, you (aggregators) will have to follow the Central government guidelines. We will stop you (aggregators) from plying.¡±

Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas representing Uber told the court that it had an effective grievance redressal mechanism on its app and their intention wasn¡¯t to flout the law. The HC however responded stating that such a mechanism alone wasn¡¯t enough.

Amrit Dhillon Via The Guardian

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CJ Datta also highlighted the level of stress drivers of Ola and Uber are put through. He ordered that the operators had seven days to apply for a license and another 10 days for the state to consider. ¡°The law has to be followed,¡± HC ordered.

The HC refrained from shutting down operations and offering a deadline to comply with the law as they ¡°are conscious that restraining aggregators, who have not yet obtained licences, will operate to prejudice and detriment of passengers who avail the services.¡±

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