High Court seeks Delhi Govt response on PIL seeking to regulate e-rickshaws

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Delhi Government and the traffic police on a public interest litigation seeking to regulate the plying of e-rickshaws in the national Capital.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia was hearing the PIL filed by Manish Parashar, who lost his 8-year-old daughter in an accident last year while she was going to her school on an e-rickshaw.

The court issued notice to the city Government, its transport department, traffic police and MCD, and asked the authorities to State the measures adopted by them.

Raising concerns of public safety, the petitioner’s counsel said the minor girl was crushed to death after the speeding e-rickshaw, which was uninsured and plying on a prohibited road, overturned. “Issue notice to the respondents. Let the affidavit in reply be filed by the respondents,” the bench said while listing the matter for next hearing on March 18.

In his petition filed through advocates Gaurav Arya and Naveen Bamel, the petitioner said there was unchecked proliferation of e-rickshaws, which had become a “relentless menace”. It said these unregistered and unregulated vehicles continued to ply in large numbers without adhering to any safety and technical standards, resulting in accidents, traffic obstruction, and grave risk to the public.

The petition claimed that, as per the Delhi Traffic Police data, there were 108 accidents involving e-rickshaws between January 1 and August 20, 2025, resulting in 26 deaths and 130 injuries, an average of three fatalities per month.

The PIL further said that although a Delhi Gazette Notification prohibited e-rickshaw plying and parking on 236 specified roads, it was “often not complied with strictly on the ground.” The petitioner prayed for directions to the authorities to immediately and rigorously enforce the regulatory framework for e-rickshaws in terms of the Delhi Government’s E-Rickshaw Sewa Scheme and the Centre’s guidelines on plying of e-rickshaws.

The petition said the measures ought to include mandatory registration, fitness certification every three years, a valid driving licence, a strict passenger capacity limit of four, excluding the driver, as well as other safety measures.

It also sought directions to the authorities to seize and impound all e-rickshaws operating without valid registration, fitness certificates, insurance or driving licence and other safety violations.