#CabWars: Ola making fake bookings, cancellations says Uber before Delhi HC

The competition between taxi aggregators Ola and Uber intensified today with Uber moving the Delhi High Court, alleging ‘deliberate and unlawful interference’ by Ola in Uber’s business..Uber India, represented by Senior Advocates Rajeev Nayyar and Dayan Krishnan, submitted before Justice Vipin Sanghi that Ola had created significant number of fake accounts that were used to make ‘false bookings and subsequent cancellations’ on Uber’s app..The counsel argued that this exercise was intended to keep Uber’s drivers busy and the company had to bear the cancellation charges. Nayyar further stated,.“These cancellations amounted to nearly 8-10℅ of its total bookings and over 50,000 fake cancellations have been made between August and March, 2016.”.Appearing for OLA Cabs, Senior Advocate Sandeep Sethi dismissed the allegations and termed them as a ‘media gimmick’. He further submitted that no one at OLA had indulged in such practices. The Bench recorded the statement made by Sethi and proceeded to issue notice to OLA cabs..Uber’s petition, a copy of which is with Bar & Bench, alleges that OLA created 93, 859 false rider accounts on Uber’s technological platform by giving fake names, email IDs and untraceable phone numbers..It also states that there were 405,649 false bookings of taxi rides made on Uber’s Platform..“The Defendants, through their employees, have also, among the driver partners, passed themselves off as the Plaintiff’s officers and circulated among them malicious text messages, which are outright false, to cause injurious falsehood to the Plaintiffs, thus causing damage to the Plaintiff…..….the Defendants have been causing intentional damage to the business of Plaintiff by unlawful means without just cause or excuse, which the Defendant was not at liberty to commit. The Defendants have thus caused financial and business losses and loss of goodwill to the Plaintiffs by indulging in various fraudulent and tortious activities. The Defendants are continuing to engage in such activities.”.Uber has made the following prayers before the High Court:-.a) A decree of declaration that the Defendants have wrongfully interfered with the business of the Plaintiffs;.b) An injunction against Ola’s associates, officers, employees and agents restraining them from:.wrongfully interfering with the business operations of the Plaintiffs;making false rider accounts on the IT Systems of the Plaintiffs;making false bookings with the driver partners on Plaintiffs’ Platform;making wrongful cancellations of bookings made on Plaintiffs’ Platform;.c) Damages of Rs. 49,61,64,780/- as well as punitive damages.The case will now be heard on September 14.