New Delhi: Weeks after a disturbing Ola cab ride involving Supreme Court advocate Saif Mahmood led him to file a complaint against the driver, a group of prominent lawyers has formally approached the Government of India with a detailed pre-litigation representation seeking sweeping regulatory reforms for such ride-hailing platforms. This comes after Ola responded to Mahmood’s complaint and emails by treating it as a routine ride-service issue.
The driver had boasted before Mahmood of having assaulted Muslim passengers in the past.
Signed by 10 lawyers, including Senior Advocates Sanjay Hegde and Gopal Sankaranarayan, advocates Haripriya Padmanabhan and Syed Mohammad Haider Rizvi, the representation frames the issue as one of urgent public importance, linking everyday cab usage to fundamental constitutional rights.
The lawyers argue that incidents such as what Mahmood faced are not isolated, but indicative of a deeper structural failure.
“What happened to me inside that cab is a warning about what millions experience silently every day,” Mahmood said. “When a passenger is trapped in a moving vehicle with someone glorifying communal violence, it stops being a customer-service issue and becomes a constitutional crisis.”
ThePrint reached out to Ola seeking a response to the allegations. The company issued a statement expressing regret over “unprofessional behaviour” by the driver, but did not specifically address Mahmood’s name and complaint.
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‘Normalisation of hate’
The representation by the lawyers also highlights cab aggregators as companies with “huge economic power and public importance”, adding that they function like essential public transport systems while operating without proper accountability.
The lawyers call for an immediate implementation of binding rules under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, including making the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, legally enforceable rather than advisory.
“Ride‑hailing companies now function as essential public transport, yet they operate without enforceable standards of safety, non-discrimination, or accountability. Our representation demands that the State finally step in and protect citizens where the platforms have failed,” Mahmood said.
Among key demands are a mandatory central licensing regime for aggregators, installation of tamper-proof dashcams with audio-visual recording, and a universal in-app emergency response system linked to law enforcement.
The complaint also highlights previous instances of alleged communal and regional discrimination within the aggregator ecosystem, as well as ongoing concerns about women’s safety in app-based cabs.
“This representation is not about one driver or one platform. It is about the normalisation of hate and the vacuum of regulation that allows it to flourish in the confined space of a cab. When companies profit from every ride but bear no responsibility for safety or discrimination, the Constitution is reduced to a slogan,” Mahmood added.
Citing protections under the Constitution of India—particularly Articles 14, 15, and 21—the lawyers argue that the absence of enforceable standards undermines citizens’ rights to equality, dignity, and personal safety.
Mahmood also said that there has been little meaningful response from the platforms involved, prompting them to escalate the matter to government authorities.
Disclaimer: Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Cabs, is an investor in ThePrint. You can read our full list of investors here.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)