Karnataka HC stays order asking Ola to compensate customer who alleged sexual harassment by driver
The company contended that it could not implement the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act in the case as the taxi driver was not its employee.
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The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the recent order of a single-judge bench directing ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola Cabs, to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation to a woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by a driver enrolled with the cab aggregator, Live Law reported.
In its order on September 30, the single-judge bench of Justice MGS Kamal had 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.
Kamal also directed Ola’s internal complaints committee to investigate the complaint in accordance with the Act's provisions. He said the process should be completed within 90 days with a report submitted to the district officer.
The complainant had said that she had taken an Ola cab to her office in Bengaluru in August 2018. She alleged that the driver stared at her through the mirror and watched an explicit video on his phone during the ride.
The phone was positioned so that it was visible to her, the woman added.
The woman filed a complaint with ANI Technologies seeking action against the driver but said that the company’s internal complaints committee had declined to act on her complaint.
The woman then moved court to direct ANI Technologies to investigate the...
