Women's safety: How Ola, Uber can be regulated, SC asks Centre to respond

India has been dealing with the issue of women's safety in public transport where cases of sexual harassment have been mounting. Responding to a petition seeking compensation for rape victims, the apex court asked the Center to examine and respond to the regulation of internet-based transport services to ensure women's safety. 

The supreme court will now begin hearing the matter later this year on 7th December. 

The petitioner demanded that all public transport vehicles should be fitted with GPS system along with high-security registration plates besides maintenance of logbook. Further, it asked the government to encourage more deployment of women cab drivers and conductors. However, In India cab aggregators have ascertained that their technology is limited for the driver and passenger to connect and any offence by the driver can be subject to expulsion and cannot be challenged legally.

It was last year when Delhi high court bench directed the government and police to check if all cab drivers held valid licences after they took note of an incident where a foreign tourist was allegedly molested by Ola driver. They had further directed the government and cab services to ensure police verification of the drivers and examine if there were any criminal antecedents. These concerns have been continuously raised after the Delhi rape incident where even the apex court had observed that women are still not safe in India and safety has to be ensured where such crimes are still continuing.