Aggregator taxi PIL seeks grievance redressal system; Bombay HC asks Maharashtra, Uber to reply

Bombay High Court. File Pic

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit detailing the statutory rules under which taxi aggregators such as Uber and Ola are granted licences to operate in the state.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik also directed Uber India to file a reply clarifying whether it had secured a licence under the Maharashtra City Taxi Rules, 2016.

The bench passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Savina Crasto highlighting the lack of an effective grievance redressal mechanism for customers using Uber India app to use their cab services.

Crasto cited an incident from November last year when she booked an Uber ride in the city and was dropped off mid-way "at a shady dark place". She then found the Uber app had no effective option for lodging complaints.

On Monday, Crasto showed the HC bench how the app worked on her phone and explained that the app's current grievance redressal mechanism had only a list of pre-set complaints that a customer could click on.

The counsel for Uber India told HC the current mechanism available to those using its app covered all possible issues that one could face.

The HC, however, pointed out that during a previous hearing on a similar issue, the Maharashtra government had made an interim statement of not taking any coercive action against private cab aggregators, including Uber and Ola, irrespective of their licence terms.

Such an undertaking given by the state was yet to be vacated, HC noted.

"There is a statement of AGP (state's counsel) from 2017 that no coercive action will be taken on the statutory rules. How can that be? What is this? Because the consequence is that even if an aggregator doesn't possess a licence as mandated by the rules, the state will not be in a position to take action," it said.

The HC directed the state government and Uber India to file their reply affidavits by January 5.

"Let them (cab aggregators) render services to people, but if there are grievances then they have to be addressed. How can the state not do anything? We'll pull you (state government) up on this," the court said.

It will hear the PIL further on January 10.

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