The Karnataka High Court on Friday, June 13, declined to grant interim relief to bike taxi aggregators, effectively clearing the way for a state-wide halt in services starting Monday, June 16.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar was hearing appeals filed by Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ola), and Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd (Rapido). The companies had challenged an April 2 order by a single judge bench directing bike taxi operators to cease operations within six weeks, a deadline that was later extended to June 15.
The single bench had ruled that unless the state government issues specific guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and associated rules, bike taxi services cannot continue. It added that the state is free to frame such rules if it wishes to permit the operations.
In their appeals, the aggregators argued that the existing Aggregator Rules, notified by the state in 2016, already cover bike taxis. They pointed out that similar services have been permitted in several other states and urged the court to either stay the single bench order, extend the compliance deadline, or restrain the state from taking coercive action until the appeals are heard.
However, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty opposed the plea, arguing that the aggregators were operating without a valid licence, relying solely on previous interim protections granted by the court.
The division bench noted that while public transport and livelihoods are matters of concern, no interim relief could be considered when the state has made a policy decision not to frame enabling rules for bike taxis.
The court has issued notices to both the state and Union governments and directed them to file objections before the next hearing. It also made it clear that no requests for adjournments would be entertained.
The aggregators had earlier approached the single bench seeking directions to the state government to permit registration of motorcycles as transport vehicles, which would allow them to operate legally with yellow licence plates. However, the state government maintained that the current legal framework under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Aggregator Rules, 2016 does not provide for licensing bike taxi aggregators.
With no interim relief in place, bike taxi operations across Karnataka are expected to come to a halt starting June 16.