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 matter. She also sought directions for the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to ensure that the company complied with the Act.
Challenging the order issued on September 30, the counsel representing the company contended that it cannot implement the POSH Act in this case because Ola did not employ the driver, Live Law reported.
Staying the September 30 order, a vacation bench of Justices SR Krishna Kumar and MG Uma said that the matter required consideration.
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