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Delhi HC Warns Rapido: Make App Accessible for Specially-Abled or Pack Up

• ByStartupStory     |    March 21, 2025

The Delhi High Court (HC) has reportedly pulled up ride-hailing giant Rapido for failing to ensure adequate accessibility of its app for specially-abled persons, as per NDTV.

The HC warned Rapido to improve the accessibility of its platform for specially-abled users within four months or else “pack up from India.” The Court was hearing a petition filed by a visually impaired person and questioned how the app was allowed to function without complying with existing accessibility laws.

The HC also directed the joint secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to provide an explanation regarding the lack of accessibility compliance. The Court further ordered the joint secretary to be present at the next hearing and submit details on the steps taken by the Ministry to ensure ride-hailing apps meet accessibility norms.

Meanwhile, the counsel for the petitioners, Rahul Bajaj, reportedly revealed that Rapido furnished an accessibility audit report to the Court. According to Bajaj, the report highlighted 81 major failures concerning accessibility for specially-abled persons on Rapido’s app.

“That report showed that there are 170 accessibility errors in the platform at the base level of WCAG level A… It also showed 81 major failures in the accessibility of the app, and this is as per their own audit. Quite apart from the concerns that we got from disabled users which we were also carrying,” Bajaj reportedly said.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level A represents the minimum level of accessibility conformance, focusing on the most critical requirements to make websites usable for individuals with disabilities.

The development comes six months after the Delhi HC directed Rapido to submit a compliance report from an empanelled “access auditor” on the accessibility of its app for persons with disabilities. The directive was issued in response to a plea filed by accessibility activist Amar Jain and visually impaired banker Dipto Ghosh Choudhary.

The petitioners alleged that Rapido’s app failed to cater to the needs of disabled individuals, claiming that certain features of the platform rendered accessibility software for screen reading “significantly unusable” by specially-abled users.

Previously, Rapido had acknowledged accessibility issues and had promised to update its app to comply with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Rapido’s Financial and Business Overview
The latest development comes months after Rapido, in August 2024, entered the unicorn club after raising $120 million from existing investor WestBridge Capital.

Founded in 2015 by Rishikesh SR, Pavan Guntupalli, and Aravind Sanka, Rapido offers bike taxi and cab services, as well as peer-to-peer delivery services under Rapido Local.

On the financial front, Rapido’s net loss widened by over 50% to INR 674.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 439 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its operating revenue surged to INR 443 Cr in FY23 from INR 144.8 Cr in FY22.

The next hearing is expected to determine whether Rapido takes effective steps to comply with accessibility norms or faces the risk of being banned from operating in India.

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