Uber (Photo : Reuters)
Uber and other similar ride-hailing apps are in deep water as Delhi authorities have asked the Indian government and the Information Technology to block them.
In December 2014, India banned all unregistered online taxi firms until they properly obtain a legitimate operating license after the alleged rape case of an Uber driver.
However, Uber and its local rival Ola still continued to operate despite the government's ban even if their license applications were not approved yet.
Delhi authorities now told Uber and Ola, who is financially backed by SoftBank Corp in Japan, to halt their operations if they still want to have their license applications approved, according to Reuters.
"We have proactively gone over and beyond the set requirements in terms of customer safety measures across the country," said Ola, which is owned by ANI Technologies Pvt.
Delhi transport officials are continually enforcing the prohibition on both the ride-sharing companies. To date, the state's enforcement agents have already impounded more than 140 vehicles from Uber and Ola.
The Delhi Transport Department sent a letter to the national Information Technology Ministry on Tuesday, requesting that they block the companies' apps to help implement the ban.
There was no specific instructions stated in the letter on how the apps would be blocked, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S.-based Uber did not provide any comment and the issue, while a spokesman for the ministry said that he was not aware that there was a letter therefore he cannot comment immediately.
Banning apps and websites in India is possible under the Information Technology Act. Restrictions can be placed as a response to national security threats and crime.
