The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre, Delhi government and Delhi Police to respond to a plea alleging traffic violations by e-commerce delivery riders.

A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela ordered the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Delhi Transport Department and Commissioner of Delhi Police to file their replies and posted the matter for hearing on October 8.

Advocate Shashank Shri Tripathi in his petition alleged “widespread, continued and unchecked” violations of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules by delivery partners of quick commerce and e-commerce platforms in the Capital.

The counsel for the Delhi government informed the court that the government had already introduced a policy for two-wheelers – the Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme, 2023 – and had notified it on November 21, 2023.

The scheme aims to license and regulate aggregators operating in the Delhi region.

The court then asked the Delhi government to place on record the policy and for the authorities concerned to provide detailed information about the action taken against the violators.

The plea alleged that delivery workers employed or contracted by various platforms routinely use two-wheelers to transport “oversized, bulky and excessively heavy items,” including industrial toolkits, foldable furniture, and commercial-sized delivery boxes.

“These loads often exceed the permissible dimensions and weight limits under Indian traffic regulations, compromise the stability of vehicles, obstruct the vision of riders and endanger public safety,” it said.

“The continued tolerance of these unsafe delivery practices will create a dangerous precedent that encourages other commercial entities to disregard safety regulations, thereby potentially leading to a complete breakdown of vehicular discipline and road safety standards across Delhi and other urban centers, which would result in irreparable harm to public safety and the rule of law,” the petition said.

The plea sought directions for framing and implementing binding regulatory guidelines governing delivery operations in the gig economy.

Urbanclap Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. (Urban Company), Zomato Ltd., Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Swiggy), Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd., Instakart Services Pvt. Ltd. (Ekart/Flipkart), Jubilant Foodworks Ltd. (Domino’s), Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (McDonald’s), Kiranakart Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Zepto), Innovative Retail Concepts Pvt. Ltd. (Bigbasket) and Smartshift Logistics Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Porter) have been made parties to the case.