Delhi High Court on Monday directed the AAP government to formulate an insurance policy for e-rickshaws to help mishap victims claim compensation and prohibit plying of any such unregistered vehicle on the roads of the national Capital.
The Bench said e-rickshaw owners should be asked to go for third-party insurance cover to enable accident victims claim compensation in case of any mishap. “You (Delhi government) find a solution. As on date, there is no policy under which the victims of the e-rickshaws can claim a compensation,” Justice J R Modha said.
He further said that “many of the e-rickshaws are plying without registration and the same should not be allowed”.
The court’s direction came during the hearing of a contempt plea alleging that most e-rickshaws in the city were operating in violation of law and rules and the authorities were not taking any action against such vehicles. The counsel for Delhi government told the court that only those e-rickshaws complying with its guidelines were being registered and the rest being impounded.
He said the transport department has granted licences to around 4,000 e-rickshaws till date and impounded over 15,000 vehicles playing illegally. Prosecution has been initiated against owners or operators of around 16,000 e-rickshaws which were found plying illegally, it said. Advocate Sugriva Dubey, counsel for the petitioner Shahnawaz Khan, submitted that licences have been granted to only 31 e-rickshaws and especially in trans-Yamuna areas, these vehicles were plying in violation of the law.