After hearing a case of sexual harassment filed by a woman against a cab driver while she booked an Ola cab, the Karnataka High Court said that the company was responsible for trauma caused to woman as she booked the cab relying on Ola's assurances of safety and thus the company should compensate for her distress and trauma.
The high court directed ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola Cabs, to pay Rs 5 lakhs to a woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by an Ola driver in 2018, the Bar and Bench reported.
The case dates back to 2018, where the woman filed a sexual harassment complaint alleging that the driver masturbated during the ride and stared at her through the rear-view mirror. The driver was also accused of displaying pornographic material on his mobile device. The woman said that the driver further refused to stop the cab before reaching the destination.
Ola initially communicated to the woman passenger that the driver had been blacklisted and would be sent for counselling. However, dissatified with the action by company, the woman lodged a formal police complaint.
A bench of justice MGS Kamal, directed the company to complete its investigation within 90 days and present the findings to the district officer, the report said.
The court further instructed the company to initiate the inquiry through its internal complaints committee (ICC) in line with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The court rejected Ola's complaint that the cab drivers are not classified as employees and thus do not fall under the provisions of the POSH Act.
The court held that the ICC has a statutory obligation to conduct the inquiry.
Along with Rs 5 Lakh compensation, the court directed the company to pay Rs 50,000 to cover the woman’s litigation costs.