BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court directed ANI Technologies (Ola) and its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation and Rs 50,000 towards litigation expenses to the petitioner, a victim of sexual harassment by a cab driver, for inaction on her complaint.
The court directed the additional commissioner for transport and secretary of the Karnataka State Transport Authority to pay Rs 1 lakh to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority from their pocket for allowing Ola to run taxis without renewing licence, mandatory under the Aggregator Rules, 2016. The officials were also asked to proceed with the matter in response to the notice dated August 16, 2024, seeking explanation and complete the process within 90 days.
The court said it is inexplicable that Ola is operating its business without a valid licence and the Transport Authority’s notice is nothing but an eyewash. It added, “The Transport Authority and the officers-in-charge are equally guilty of deliberate inaction and negligence in discharging their statutory obligations. The guilt of inaction equally lies at the threshold of the Authority and the officers, who are expected to discharge the obligations and the public trust reposed in them, requiring to be mulcted with costs”.
Justice MGS Kamal passed the order while partly allowing the victim’s petition against Ola and ICC for not taking action against the driver under provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, (PoSH Act), claiming that the company lacked jurisdiction.
After the victim boarded a cab on August 23, 2018, from her house in Yelahanka to her office in JP Nagar, the driver watched a porn video on his phone and intentionally held the phone in a manner to ensure that the video was visible to her and he also masturbated. The victim repeatedly requested the driver to stop the vehicle, but he did only near her office.