The Karnataka High Court on Friday permitted the operation of bike taxis in the state, allowing a batch of petitions filed by cab aggregators ANI Technologies, Uber and Rapido against the ban on the service, The Hindu reported.
ANI Technologies owns Ola cabs.
On April 2, a single-judge bench ordered all bike taxi services to stop operations in Karnataka 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 court had allowed Ola and Uber to continue their bike taxi services till June 15.
On June 13, a division bench refused to stay the single-judge bench’s order. However, the court sought the response of state authorities on appeals filed by the cab aggregators against the ban, while rejecting their 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.
During their arguments in court, the cab aggregators had said that the ban violated their fundamental right to trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, Live Law reported.
The cab aggregators had also said that the state government cannot, by executive action, claim to have a larger right and override all these provisions, as that would be in contravention of the 1988 Motor Vehicles Act.
On the other hand, the state government had argued that a motorcycle cannot be a transport vehicle, Live Law reported. It added that the statutory definition did not contemplate its use for carrying passengers or for hire.
If a motorcycle were to be considered a transport vehicle, “it is not a passenger vehicle and not to be used for hire or reward”, it had added.
During the hearing on Friday, the court held that bikes used for taxi services fell within the definition of “transport vehicles” under the Motor Vehicles Act, Bar and Bench reported. It added that the state government cannot refuse or deny permits to such vehicles on the grounds that bikes were not transport vehicles.
Bike taxi operators could file applications to get contract carriage permits to operate motorcycles as bike taxis, it added.
The bench added that while the state government was free to examine all relevant aspects to decide whether to accept such applications, permits cannot be refused merely on the ground that the vehicle was a motorcycle.
Also read: Bike taxis are exploding in India – but are facing government roadblocks
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