Karnataka HC says cab drivers are Ola employees, asks company to pay damages under POSH Act
The petitioner claimed that ANI technologies, which operates the cab aggregator, declined to hold an enquiry into her complaint.
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The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered ANI technologies, the owner and operator of cab aggregator Ola, to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to a woman who was sexually harassed by a driver associated with the platform, Live Law reported.
A single-judge bench of Justice MGS Kamal also observed that the driver would be considered an employee of Ola under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, or the POSH Act.
In her complaint, the woman said that she had taken an Ola cab to her office in Bengaluru in August 2018, The Indian Express reported.
She alleged that the driver stared at her through the mirror and watched an obscene video on his phone during the ride. The phone was positioned so that it was visible to her, the woman added.
Subsequently, she had filed a complaint with ANI Technologies seeking action against the driver, Live Law reported. However, her complaint was not entertained, the woman said, adding that the company’s internal complaints committee had declined to hold an enquiry.
The woman then filed a petition in the court seeking directions to ANI Technologies to look into the complaint. She also sought directions to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to ensure that the company complied with the Act.
The court had...
