Karnataka’s ban on bike taxis violates fundamental right to trade: Ola tells High Court

Cab aggregator Ola on Thursday told the Karnataka High Court that the state government’s ban on bike taxi services violates its fundamental right to trade under Article 19 of the Constitution, reported Live Law.

Article 19 guarantees fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to practice any profession, occupation, trade or business, to citizens.

The High Court was hearing pleas filed by cab aggregators Ola, Uber India and Rapido against an order by a single-judge bench on June 13 that upheld the Karnataka government’s decision to ban bike taxis in the state.

Advocate Arun Kumar, representing Ola’s parent company ANI Technologies, told the court that if the Motor Vehicles Act allows registration of motorcycles as transport vehicles, then the state cannot ban the operation of bike taxis.

Similar arguments were presented by counsel for other aggregators. The court will resume hearing the matter on Friday.

Also read: Bike taxis are exploding in India – but are facing government roadblocks

Ban on bike taxis

On April 2, a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court ordered all bike taxi services to stop operations in the state within six weeks. The court referred to an expert committee report from 2019, which had considered the impact of bike taxis on traffic and safety.

Unless the state government frames rules and guidelines to permit bike taxis, such vehicles cannot be permitted in Karnataka, the court had held.

The six-week deadline for bike taxis to stop operation in the state was set to expire in May. However, cab aggregators later urged the court to extend this deadline. Accepting the request, the High Court had allowed Ola and Uber to continue their bike taxi services till June 15.

On June 13, the court rejected the cab aggregators’ request to continue interim relief.

The bench said it would have allowed the request had the state government been in the process of framing rules. However, since the government had decided not to permit bike taxis, such an order could not be passed, it said.