On the day a charge sheet was filed against a cab driver for allegedly raping a woman passenger, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi Government’s Transport Department to hear the representation of cab service provider Uber against the ban and blacklisting of its services. The Court refused to lift the ban on plying of Uber cabs in the city.
The cab service was blacklisted in Delhi after its driver Shiv Kumar Yadav was arrested on charges of raping a 27-year-old woman executive in his taxi on the night of December 5. The Court asked the petitioner, Uber India Systems Private Limited, to submit by Monday its representation to the Transport Department, which will pass a reasoned order within 10 days.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the High Court, who had set aside the Delhi Government’s ban on Ola Cabs on Tuesday, refused to grant the same relief to Uber while noting that the services provided by the latter were different.
The Court said the two cab services were not identical, as Uber collects money directly from the customer and gives it to the driver, while the person pays to the taxi driver in case of Ola. “You are providing the service,” the Judge remarked and said the Court was not issuing a stay in the matter.
In the Ola case, the Court had stated that the December 8 order of the Delhi Government had banned the operation of the web-based service without giving a hearing to the operator.
While keeping the writ petition pending and posting it for hearing on January 6, 2015, the Court said the Transport Department’s officer concerned would consider all the points raised by Uber and pass a speaking order.
The petition, moved through counsel Rajiv Nayar, stated that the December 8 public notice blacklisting Uber from providing transport service was issued without providing fair and proper hearing to the cab service provider.
