In a significant ruling, the Karnataka High Court’s division bench has declined to stay a previous order that caps service charges at five percent for auto-rickshaw rides booked through aggregator platforms such as Ola, Uber, and Rapido. The decision came from a bench consisting of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Arvind, who also set the final hearing for this matter on August 29.
The ruling upholds a mandate by the Karnataka state government, which was previously validated by a single-judge bench of the High Court. This regulation aims to protect consumers from excessive service charges imposed by these ride-hailing platforms.
During the proceedings, the appellants sought an interim injunction against the single-judge’s order but the request was denied by the division bench. The bench, however, granted a partial reprieve by staying the directive that required the Registrar (Judicial) to forward a copy of the single-judge’s order to the Chairman of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
