No bike taxis in Karnataka from June 16 as High Court refuses to stay single judge order

No bike taxis in Karnataka from June 16 as High Court refuses to stay order

The Karnataka High Court on June 13 refused to stay a single judge’s order directing bike taxi services to halt operations unless the state government frames rules under the Motor Vehicles Act.

A division bench led by acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar issued notices to the state government and other respondents, asking them to file their responses by June 20. The case will next be heard on June 24.

Also, read: Karnataka bike taxi ban nears June 15 deadline; transport dept to implement HC order

The appeals were filed by ANI Technologies (Ola) and Uber India challenging a single judge’s order that bike taxi aggregators like Rapido and Uber cannot operate without state-framed rules under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for the companies, argued that the court had acknowledged two-wheelers can be used as transport vehicles. Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty maintained that they must operate only under a formal policy. Uber’s counsel cited central rules to claim that bike taxis can run in the absence of state rules, but AG Shetty disagreed, saying they cannot operate until such rules are framed.

The  April 2 order issued by Justice B Shyam Prasad had directed that all bike taxi operations in Karnataka be stopped within six weeks - a deadline later extended to June 15. Consequently, services are expected to come to a halt across the state from June 16.

Rapido told the court that the ban would impact over six lakh livelihoods in Karnataka, stating that 75 percent of its riders rely on the platform as their primary source of income, earning an average of Rs 35,000 per month. The company also claimed to have paid over Rs 700 crore to its riders and Rs 100 crore in GST in Bengaluru alone.

As reported by Moneycontrol on June 12, the Karnataka transport department has confirmed it will implement the High Court’s directive requiring bike taxi operators to cease services by June 15.