HC wants K'taka govt, ride-hailing firms to arrive at common ground
Bengaluru, Oct 13: The High Court of Karnataka has suggested that the State government and autorickshaw-hiring aggregators to arrive at a common ground.
The court was hearing petitions by Uber India Systems Private Limited and ANI Technologies Private Limited following the directions of the State to aggregators to stop their operations. The aggregators had also been warned that they would be fined for every autorickshaw found plying on the online demand platforms.
The government had issued the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator (KODTTA) rules in 2016. Based on them, the online aggregator companies like Ola, Uber and Rapido obtained permission to launch online cab hiring facilities through mobile apps.
On October 6 this year, the authorities after a meeting issued an order stating that autorickshaw cab service available under the online apps violated the rules and licence. It was held that taxi service was only for cars and not autorickshaws. The petition by the aggregator Uber states: "Without any basis, the impugned notice further states that the petitioner is charging higher rates of fare than the fares fixed as per the notification issued by the State from time to time."
The single judge Bench which heard the arguments of the aggregators today adjourned the hearing. The Bench noted that the services rendered by the online aggregators were useful for the customers but there were also concerns about the additional fares charged and penalty for cancelling bookings.
It suggested that the authorities and the aggregators find a common ground on the issue.
The advocate for the aggregators argued that there were no additional charges imposed for the service and aggregators only shared commission from the rickshaw owners.
It was also claimed that when the licences were issued under the KODTTA rules, it was not mentioned that autorickshaws were kept out of its purview.
The Advocate General, representing the State, said the App-based aggregators were charging more than the rates fixed by the authorities in the name of surcharge. They had not obtained licence for aggregating auto rickshaws and therefore their services have been stopped.
The court was told that a meeting would be held today. The court said it would again hear the case on Friday.
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Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya case: Hope emerges as Iran may contact victim’s family in bid for pardon
New Delhi: There appears to be a glimmer of hope for Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala on death row in Yemen, as report suggest Iranian officials may reach out to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, her former business partner, to seek a pardon through blood money. Priya was sentenced to death for Mahdi's murder.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.
A report by The New Indian Express published on Friday stated that discussions are underway to gain the victim's family’s support in seeking a pardon. “It’s a relief of sorts. Iran officials could use their good offices with Houthis for the reach-out with family of the victim. Some cash has been arranged for blood money and talks are on to get the family on board to seek pardon, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed,” a source told the publication.
It is learnt that using an appropriate intermediary equivalent of Rs 30 lakh has been kept ready, the report added.
Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, the nurse was found guilty of murdering the Yemeni citizen in July 2017. She was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Mahdi, reportedly died from an overdose of sedatives allegedly injected by Priya to retrieve her passport from him.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government is extending all possible help in the matter. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he said last week.
