Now Reading: Karnataka HC issues notice on Uber petition against gig worker law
-
01
Karnataka HC issues notice on Uber petition against gig worker law
The Karnataka High Court has issued notices to the Central and State governments on a petition filed by Uber India Systems Private Limited challenging the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig…
The Karnataka High Court has issued notices to the Central and State governments on a petition filed by Uber India Systems Private Limited challenging the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025 and its rules.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj directed notices to the Karnataka Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary of the Labour Department, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers Welfare Board. The court also clarified that Uber must deposit the second instalment of the welfare cess within three weeks from July 28, extending the earlier deadline.
The High Court ordered Uber's petition to be clubbed with similar pleas by IAMAI, Swiggy, Zomato, and other platform companies. All connected petitions will be heard together on August 24.
Indian Opinion Analysis
This is now the third legal challenge to Karnataka's gig worker law, which imposes a welfare cess on aggregators to fund social security for platform workers. Uber, Swiggy, and Zomato together account for an estimated 90% of the state's gig workforce. The companies argue the cess is a tax that only the state legislature can levy, raising a jurisdictional question under the Constitution's Seventh Schedule. If the court upholds the law, Karnataka's model could become a template for other states, affecting lakhs of workers and adding compliance costs of over Rs 500 crore annually for the platforms. Watch for the August 24 hearing, where the court may decide on an interim stay.
Source: thehansindia.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
