Court summons Ola, Uber for charging excess fare

Observing that app-based cab service providers were charging excess fare from commuters, a Delhi court on Monday summoned representatives of Ola, Uber, and Taxi for Sure, as accused, on December 11.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra issued summons to the ANI Technologies Private Limited, which runs Ola, Uber India Systems Private Limited, and Serendipity Infolabs Private Limited, which runs Taxi For Sure.

"Prima facie, it is clear that excess fares have been charged by respondent companies in violation of THE Motor Vehicles (MV) Act notification, dated June 20, 2013, as well as the City Taxi Scheme (CTS). Accordingly, case for permit violation under Section 192 (A) of the MV Act is made out," the judge said in the order.

The directions came after NGO NyayaBhoomi and four of its member auto drivers filed a criminal case against Ola and Uber, demanding prosecution of the three companies for violating various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act (MV).

The plea, which was filed through advocate Sumit Kumar, had sought recovery of Rs 91,000 crore from cab service providers for allegedly not adhering to rules related to fares and not operating by meter.

According to Section 93 (1) of the MV Act, an agent who solicits customers for public service vehicles is required to obtain a license under the Act. "It is prima facie clear that respondents are running public service vehicles on contract carriage basis. The respondents are acting as aggregators, who are deciding drivers, customer allocation, fares, SOS protocols, and other administrative issues," the court said.

It added: "It is alleged that no license under Section 93 of the MV Act has been obtained by respondents for running public service vehicles in Delhi, which is a violation of the City Taxi Scheme (CTS). Accordingly, Section 93 (1) is attracted against all respondents."

The complaint had further alleged that the digital fare meter of cabs did not work and the fare was calculated through the app. It claimed that the customer was not able to ascertain the fare and it was calculated and informed via the application only on the conclusion of the journey.

In addition, the complaint stated the drivers of taxis must have PSV badge according to the CTS rule. None of these drivers, however, have the badges.