Delhi High Court dismisses PIL against cap on free withdrawals from ATMs

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a PIL against the cap on free-of-charge withdrawals by banking customers from own bank ATMs, saying it was a policy decision.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao on Thursday said the ATM facility provided by banks have lot of overhead costs, like salary of guards and power consumption charges, and therefore, there cannot be unlimited free ATM transactions.

"They have to maintain the ATMs and there would be establishment costs," the court said, adding that it would be "disastrous" if banks close the ATMs due to its interference in the issue.

As per the Reserve Bank of India's new guidelines, bank customers in six metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru -- are allowed to withdraw money free of charge only five times a month from the ATMs of their banks and will be charged Rs 20 for every subsequent transaction.

Are drivers for Ola, Uber working as their employees? Delhi HC to decide

Can drivers working for app-based taxi companies like Ola and Uber be considered as their employees?

This was a question raised on Monday before the Delhi High Court which sought to know the Centre's stand on the issue.

Apart from the central government, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva also issued notice to the Delhi government, Uber and ANI Technologies, which provides cab services under the name of Ola, and sought their responses by August 10 on the issue raised by a drivers' union.

The Delhi Commercial Driver Union, which claims to represent around 1.5 lakh drivers operating in the national capital region, has alleged that the two companies were not treating them as employees and instead "exploiting" them.

It has claimed in its plea that the drivers were being exploited with regard to their pay and service conditions and were also being denied benefits like compensation in case of accidents or deaths while on duty, under the labour laws.

The Delhi government, during the hearing, told the court that the issue raised was either an industrial dispute or a policy decision to be taken by the administration.
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Ola-Uber strike: Delhi HC orders striking unions to not block Uber's cabs

Latest News - The Delhi High Court on Monday restrained anyone from stopping or blocking the running of Uber's cabs, granting relief to the app-based taxi service provider whose services have been disrupted due to the recent strike by drivers.

In an interim order, Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also issued notice to the two striking drivers unions and sought their response on Uber's plea against the strike.

Taxi drivers unions, Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi (SDAD) and Rajdhani Tourist Drivers' Union, including others acting on their behest, were also restrained by the court from "protesting, agitating, causing commotion violence in any manner in (Read More)