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NEW DELHI: A user committee successful Andhra Pradesh has held Ola liable for the misconduct of 1 of its drivers and directed the institution to wage Rs 50,000 arsenic compensation to a pistillate rider who was near stranded connected a road portion connected her mode to look for the Andhra Pradesh Junior Civil Judge Mains Examination.The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kurnool, partially allowed the ailment filed by Ullaji Chennamma and ordered Ola to wage Rs 50,000 towards compensation for intelligence agony, affectional distress and hardship, on with Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs.As per the complaint, Chennamma had booked an Ola Auto connected October 11, 2025 astatine 7:08 americium from Pottur Vari Thota, Guntur, to Acharya Nagarjuna University, accompanied by her mother, to look for a judicial mains examination.
The operator who arrived, came successful a conveyance bearing antithetic registration fig from the conveyance shown successful the Ola app. Despite this discrepancy, the operator insisted to stock the OTP earlier commencing the ride.Instead of taking the close route, the operator deliberately diverted and took the complainant astir 25 kilometres distant from her destination. He past stopped connected the Narasaraopet–Guntur Road astatine Sitaram Nagar and demanded further outgo to driblet her astatine the close location.
When she refused, helium abandoned the complainant and her parent connected a antithetic determination astatine 7:28 am, forcing her to cancel the thrust against her will, the ailment further added.What did the user tribunal say"This Commission cannot disregard the information that the complainant was proceeding to be a highly competitory judicial mains examination, which required intelligence composure, punctuality, and affectional stability.
Leaving a pistillate campaigner and her parent stranded connected a nationalist roadworthy nether specified circumstances undoubtedly caused immense intelligence agony, fear, inconvenience, humiliation, and affectional distress," the committee said.Ola argued that it conscionable operates an online level connecting autarkic third-party drivers to the customers and truthful it cannot beryllium held liable for the driver's misconduct. The institution further added that nary outgo was collected and that it had, arsenic a precautionary measure, suspended the operator and off-boarded the conveyance aft the ailment was raised.While rejecting this defence, the committee held that simply describing itself arsenic an 'online platform' does not absolve the other enactment from its work towards consumers who avail services done its application."Merely describing itself arsenic an 'online platform' does not absolve the Opposite Party from its work towards consumers who avail services done its application. Once the work was booked and commenced done the level operated by the Opposite Party, the second owed a work of attraction and work to guarantee tenable safety, reliability, and accountability successful the work rendered done its associated drivers," the committee further noted.The committee besides added that Ola's ain enactment of suspending the operator worked against its defence arsenic "Such enactment connected the portion of the other enactment itself indicates that determination was substance successful the grievance raised by the complainant and that the behaviour of the operator was improper."On the question of compensation, the committee recovered the complainant's claimed magnitude of Rs 5,00,000 excessive but awarded Rs 50,000, further noting that "the intelligence agony, inconvenience, affectional distress, and the anxiousness caused to the complainant astatine a important signifier of her examination" justified the grant and said the bid indispensable beryllium complied with wrong 45 days of receipt."Ola should instrumentality and support stricter interior monitoring and verification mechanisms to curb specified unfair and negligent practices by drivers operating done its platform, truthful arsenic to safeguard the interests and information of consumers," the committee concluded.
