High Court to hear petition of Mumbai Grahak Panchayat today

The Bombay High Court will hear on Friday a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mumbai Grahak Panchayat to oppose the recent taxi and auto fare hikes announced by the state government.

The case was mentioned by consumer rights organisation lawyer Uday Warunjikar before a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A A Sayed on Thursday.

The bench said the matter would be heard on Friday.

The PIL oppose the Hakim Committee report, on the basis of which the decision to hike fares was taken.

It says the report is based on "arbitrary, unreasonable, unsubstantiated and unrealistic figures".

The petition also contends that the increase was brought into effect because of pressure from auto and taxi driver unions.

The hike, from Rs 17 to Rs 19 for taxis and from Rs 15 to Rs 12 for autos, came into effect on Thursday. Fares had been hiked in October last year and March this year as well.

Referring to the previous hikes, the petition contends the recent increase was unnecessary and would burden commuters.

Mumbai Grahak Panchayat said tariffs should be increased only after converting all auto meters to electronic ones.

A notification making electronic meters mandatory for autorickshaws was issued by the state government in February.

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