BENGALURU: The division bench of Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the order passed by a single judge, who held that the relationship between ANI Technologies Private Limited (Ola) and its drivers is that of employee-employer, and hence Ola has to take action against drivers when receiving complaints of sexual harassment against them.
A vacation division bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar and Justice M G Uma passed the interim order after hearing the writ appeal filed by the Ola against the order passed by a single judge on September 30.
The single judge had also directed Ola and its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation, in addition to payment of Rs 50,000 litigation expenses to the petitioner, who is the victim of sexual harassment by a cab driver, for deliberate negligence and inaction on her complaint.
The single judge had passed the order while partly allowing the petition filed by the victim against the inaction of Ola, and ICC in taking action against the driver under the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, (PoSH Act) on the purported premises of it lacking jurisdiction as the drivers are not employees.
Senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing Ola, argued before the division bench that the finding of the single judge about the employee-employer relationship between the company and drivers was erroneous as the drivers use the Ola platform only for cab service by registering.