NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government time till September 30 to finalise its Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme, 2023.
The scheme aims to regulate cab aggregators and delivery services in the city with the twin objectives of prioritizing the safety of passengers while promoting the use of electric vehicles to reduce pollution.
According to the proposed draft, the scheme will not only mandate aggregators to install a panic button in all vehicles and integrate it with the ‘112’ Delhi Police emergency helpline but also deploy a mechanism for timely redressal of consumer grievances by service providers.
On being informed that a “robust policy was underway which was taking some time,” a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela Trivedi in its order said, “The present application is allowed and extension of time for issuing a notification on Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme, 2023 is extended till 30th September 2023.”
The order was passed while considering the Delhi government’s application seeking an extension of time for notifying the scheme.
The Supreme Court on June 12, while reviving the Delhi government’s prohibitory order of banning bike aggregators in Delhi from offering bike taxi services until notification of the policy, had taken note of the state’s submission that the policy would be in place and the licensing regime would be operational by July 31, 2023.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal had passed this order while dealing with the Delhi government’s plea challenging Delhi HC’s order staying the February 19, 2023 notification issued by the Delhi govt’s transport department which also warned the violators with a fine up to Rs 1 lakh and suspension of license for three years.
The top court had asked the state govt to deal with each application after the issuance of notification in a time-bound manner.