By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Oct 8 (Reuters) - India's consumer rights

agency received unusually high 10,000 complaints against Ola

Electric over a year and has sent a notice seeking

explanation from the SoftBank-backed e-scooter maker, a top

official at the watchdog said on Tuesday.

Following a stellar market debut in August, shares in

India's biggest e-scooter maker have fallen around 40% in recent

weeks as sales have dipped with angry customers taking to social

media to complain about its after-sales service.

Ola has also been in the spotlight this week following a

public spat between its founder and a comedian which revived

questions over its service and prompted a wave of complaints

online.

India's Central Consumer Protection Authority has sent a

so-called show cause notice to Ola after the government received

more than 10,000 complaints between September 2023 and August

2024 about issues such as delayed and unsatisfactory services

and inaccurate invoices, said Nidhi Khare, the consumer affairs

secretary.

Such a number of complaints is too high, Khare told Reuters,

adding the agency took the step as "you cannot leave it to

individual consumers to fight their way out".

"Repeatedly similar complaints are coming, it is affecting a

large number of consumers," Khare added, citing some complaints

were related to allegations about the company's "unprofessional

conduct".

Ola, which has a 27% market share in India's e-scooter

market, did not respond to a request for comment.

It told stock exchanges late on Monday that it received the

notice on Oct. 7 for "alleged violation of consumer rights,

misleading advertisement and unfair trade practices" and will

respond within 15 days.

The Indian authority has the power to direct the company to

discontinue its practices and reimburse consumers, failing which

it can also impose a fine of up to 2 million rupees ($23,828) or

order imprisonment of staff found guilty of malpractice for up

to six months, or both.

HSBC analysts said in a September note they visited multiple

Ola service hubs and most "appeared overwhelmed by the service

requests".

Reuters last year visited 35 Ola centres in 10 Indian states

and found many faced significant backlogs, with demand

outstripping their workforce. At one centre, there were more

than 100 scooters parked, many covered in bird droppings.