Ola Levels Allegations Against Uber in Karnataka High Court

ANI Technologies Limited, engaged in providing mobile app- based technological platform by the name of Ola Cabs, submitted this in its counter to a petition by rival Uber India Technologies Private Limited challenging the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules, 2016.

Counsel for the company alleged that Uber was continuing illegal activities, giving scant respect to the laws of the country.

The counter charged that Uber's petition was motivated and filed in an attempt to bypass the laws of the land by foreign companies who run their operations in India for profit without due regard for applicable laws.

On the contrary, Ola, being a law-abiding company, has complied with all requirements of the rules and a license there under has been issued to it to run its operations on June 20 by the competent authorities, he said.

Uber had, in its petition, challenged the authority of the state government to frame the rules under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Ola's counsel also claimed that Uber had been running motorcycle-taxi operations under "UberMoto" on its platform with white number plates in Bengaluru city for over three months in spite of the fact that around 120 of such bikes were impounded by the authorities.

"Uber continues to offer such motorcycle-taxis (with white number plates) on its platform in Gurgaon, Haryana, despite the fact that the competent authorities have issued a public notice in this regard," Ola's counsel said.

The authorities had also served two other notices to Uber directing it to stop and desist from providing its "illegal activities" on its platform. However, it was continuing the same, he alleged.

Taking into account the non-compliance of laws, authorities in Bhopal had taken action against Uber and sealed its offices, the counsel said.

Uber had moved the court after the transport department impounded the vehicles for not securing licences under the new norms. It also suspended taxis, which led to protests by drivers. Drivers have also independently filed a petition in court.

The transport department had in April hit the cab aggregators by increasing the penalty from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000, for allegedly operating services without obtaining necessary license, despite its repeated warnings.