State can fix fares of aggregator cabs: HC

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday upheld the state government’s authority to decide on the fares charged by cab aggregators.

However, it shot down the rule which allowed the government access to passengers’ personal information, saying it is likely to be abused.

Pronouncing the order while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016, Justice Raghavendra S Chauhan upheld the government’s power to frame rules under the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act 1988, stating that an “aggregator is a canvasser”.

The judgement effectively means aggregators cannot charge fares exceeding those prescribed by the government.

“The state government is well within its competence to frame the Aggregator Rules under the provisions of the MV Act,” the order said.

It said that an ‘aggregator’ under the Aggregator Rules, and an ‘operator’ under the City Taxi Scheme form two distinct and separate classes. Therefore, they need not be subjected to the same control or to the same set of liabilities, and cannot be treated equally.