The Delhi High Court has granted app-based transport aggregator Rapido four months to improve accessibility for disabled persons and in case of failure, they should pack up from India.
The High Court further pulled the Central government for allowing the app to function without complying with the existing laws.
It summoned the Joint Secretary of the Road and Transport Ministry for personal appearance on the next date of hearing.
The government official was directed to mention the steps taken by the government to check accessibility compliance in transport apps before their release.
The High Court passed the verdict on a petition filed by two visually-impaired persons.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, Advocate Rahul Bajaj contended that Rapido provided a summary of an accessibility audit report, which they claimed, they received on the night of March 18.
The report showed that there were 170 accessibility errors in the platform at the base level of WCAG level A. It further showed 81 major failures in the accessibility of the app.
Rapido argued that it was a small start-up in India and did not have the funds for this. The High Court, however, dismissed the argument and directed the company to comply with accessibility requirements like any other business.
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