Strictly enforcing rules on auto, cab fares: Government to Delhi High Court

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party government has assured the Delhi High Court that it was "strictly enforcing" the notification regarding taxi and auto fares and action was being taken against those who violate it.

The government made the submission before a bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and A K Pathak during hearing of a plea by Magic Sewa, an app-based taxi service, which has alleged that the authorities were not implementing the fare notification.

However, in view of the submission made by the government, Magic Sewa withdrew its petition in which it had also challenged a May 18 order of a single judge of the high court who had refused to interfere in the issue saying fares have to be regulated by the authorities.

The May 18 order of the court had come on an application filed by autorickshaw drivers who had alleged that app-based cab aggregators, like Uber and Ola, were charging much less than the fare fixed in government notifications.

The autorickshaw drivers had claimed that the app-based cab aggregators were "charging fares as low as Rs five per km which is less than half of the notified fares".

The application was filed in an earlier petition filed by Magic Sewa which had alleged that certain unlicenced taxi aggregators "have been disdainfully violating" government's notification on fares by charging very low amounts like Rs five per km or as high as Rs 38 per km".

Ola and Uber have denied the allegations made in Magic Sewa's main petition.