Mumbai: In a setback for the women cabbies group, the Bombay High Court has refused to pass any orders, directing the airport authorities and also the government to ensure a ‘smooth flow’ of passengers to avail the services of women taxi drivers, available at city’s international airport. The HC has said that it is a policy decision and it cannot pass any such order. A bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel dismissed a plea filed by Stri Shakti Kendra through its chief Susieben Shah, seeking two independent prepaid taxi slots for its women cabbies. The union claimed the authorities have failed to implement a resolution passed by the Regional Transport Authority (greater Mumbai) in May 2010.
As per this resolution, the authority had resolved to allow two independent slots in the prepaid category in the cool cabs to taxi services provided by women (Priyadarshini Taxi Services).Having considered the contentions, the judges said, “So long as there are a facility and a counter so also parking lot provided so as to enable the passengers arriving at the domestic and international airport to book prepaid taxis, particularly those operated by women, we do not think that we can ensure a regular flow of passengers towards the applicant union before us.” “We also cannot probe into the grievances and complaint made by the union that the officers of the Mumbai International Airport Limited are not directing their employees or agents to divert the passengers’ traffic towards them or apprising them about the facility made available by this union,” the bench said.
The bench further said that such grievances, if the result in financial loss, can be a subject matter of distinct legal proceedings. “It is not the grievance of the union that no facility has been made available or there is no counter which gives information to the arriving public that such taxis, operated exclusively by women, are parked outside the terminal,” the judges noted. “We do not think that all such matters should be looked into any further. Eventually, these are matters of policies and policies may undergo change or modification from time to time,” the bench said while dismissing the petition.
