HYDERABAD: In what is being seen as a beacon of hope for thousands of people who use cabs, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Central and state governments to file counter-affidavits in four weeks on a PIL alleging that taxi operators were making commuters pay through their nose by doing away with metres.
About 50,000 cabs and taxis are operated in the city by about three or four aggregators. With traffic becoming chaotic in, the trend has been to hire cabs as driving can get taxing.
At present, those who travel in cabs or taxis without metres pay different amounts for the same distance travelled at different times. Use of Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure the distance travelled by taxis is not permissible under the law, the petitioner noted.
The bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy was dealing with a PIL filed by Forum Against Corruption, an organisation represented by its president Vijay Gopal, seeking directions to the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to ensure that metres were fixed in cabs/taxis in the state. The petitioner wanted the government to restrain from registering cabs or taxis that do not possess metres.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that cabs and taxis being operated through technology-based GPS violated the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Legal Metrology Act, 2009.
As there is scope to manipulate data online, commuters have to pay more than the amount fixed by the government, the petitioner said, adding that as per the Act, metres must be installed, showing the distance travelled and fare payable.
Charging more money for the same distance travelled at different timings was violation of Section 74 of the Act, he argued and urged the court to issue orders for immediate stoppage of cabs and taxis being operated without metres.
Use of GPS method for measuring the distance travelled by taxi was not permissible under law.
After hearing the case, the bench directed the respondents - state chief secretary, principal secretary to transport, controller of legal metrology and secretary to ministry of road transport and highways, to file counter affidavits in the case and matter was posted to December 4.