Chandigarh
Tribune: New Delhi: Wednesday, 24 December 2014.
Taking
cognisance of recent rape by an Uber cab driver, the Central Information
Commission today pulled up the transport department, saying it is an alarming
aspect that certain taxis are left free on the roads without any policy
prescription for such verification and mandatory training.
It directed
the department to proactively disclose the policy, in which certain taxis do
not require any badge or follow stricter conditions, under Section 4(1)(c) and
(d) of RTI Act, especially when these administrative decisions and policies are
seriously affecting the safety of people at large in the national capital city.
"It
appears that this crime could have been prevented if the transport authorities
had first prescribed the badge as part of the permit conditions and enforced it
strictly," Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said in his order. A
27-year-old woman was allegedly raped by the driver of the taxi called through
Uber web application here on December 5, triggering a massive regulatory crack
down of web-based taxi booking services.
Acharyulu
said it should have necessitated police verification where perhaps, the rape
accused Shivkumar Yadav's real character or fake certificates could have been
discovered leading to refusal of permit to ply on Delhi roads. "Absence of
this rule reflects defective or bad governance of Transport Authority," he
said.
The RTI
applicant pleaded before the CIC that he found to his surprise that no special
permit conditions were there for black and yellow taxis (DL 1T type) and
tourist permit taxis (DL 1Y type). — PTI
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