Uber and Ola's clash in India shifts from the roads to courts

The competition between Uber and its Indian rival Ola has shifted from the streets to the courtrooms. 

The two ride-sharing companies are in the midst of a fierce battle in the southern state of Karnataka, with Ola accusing Uber of not abiding by the country's laws in a court. 

Karnataka is home to India's IT capital Bengaluru, a major market for both the companies. Uber has filed a case asking for amendments to the state's new rules for cab aggregators, which require mandatory licences, taxi signs, physical meters, complaint registers, panic buttons and printers for receipts. Ola has recently received a licence to operate in Karnataka. 

During the proceedings, Ola told the Karnataka High Court that it had complied with the government's rules. In its submission, it further argued that Uber's petition was "an attempt by foreign companies who run their operations in this country for profit without due regard for the applicable laws." 

In contrast, Ola described itself as an "indigenous startup" and a "law abiding company."

Uber has countered this by asserting that it follows the local laws.

"Uber has the deepest respect for the laws of India. What makes Uber ‘foreign’? The fact that we are established in San Francisco but have a hyperlocal team solving problems that are locally relevant?" Uber's general manager in South and West India Bhavik Rathod wrote in a blog post. "Or that, just like our competitors, we received most of our funding from ‘foreign’ investors?"

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

In turn, Ola, whose investors include SoftBank and Tiger Global Management, cited a series of alleged legal violations by Uber in India and said that it was the onus of the business to work with the government in a "partnership mode" instead of taking a "confrontational approach."

"It is a shame that our competition has to fan a debate of nationalism to hide their identity of being a multi-national, with serial violations of law as a business strategy, not just in India, but globally," Ola COO Pranay Jivarajika wrote in a blog post. "This debate in our view is not about foreign vs. local but who is respectful of the local laws and who is disrespectful."

This isn't the first time Ola and Uber's bitter competition has ended up in court. In March, Uber filed a lawsuit against Ola in the Delhi High Court, alleging that the Indian company had made over 400,000 fake bookings on its app using fraud accounts. If the hostility in the ongoing legal battle in Karnataka is any indication, it isn't likely to be the last instance either. 

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