No bike taxis in Karnataka from June 16; HC refuses to stay ban
A single judge had ordered that bike taxis cannot operate in the state unless the state government notifies relevant guidelines and rules under the Motor Vehicles Act
Bike taxis will not be allowed in Karnataka from Monday (June 16) after the Karnataka High Court refused to stay an order suspending the services in the state.
Also read: Karnataka HC orders Rapido, Ola, Uber to stop bike taxis within 6 weeks
A Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court on Friday (June 13) refused to stay a single-judge order suspending the bike taxi services.
The order means ride-hailing apps like Uber, Ola, and Rapido would have to stop their bike taxi services from Monday.
Appeals filed by Uber and others
The Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar was hearing the appeals filed by Uber India Systems Private Limited, ANI Technologies Private Limited, Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd, and others.
They challenged the April 2 order of the single judge of the court directing the bike taxi operators to stop services within a period of six weeks. It was then extended till June 15.
Next hearing on June 24
The single judge had ordered that bike taxis cannot operate in the state unless the state government notifies relevant guidelines and rules under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The Division Bench on Friday observed that it could have considered staying the single-judge order if the state had said that it was in the process of framing rules, and there was some delay on their part, but the state said that it had taken a policy decision not to frame rules.
The court issued notice to the state government and other respondents, setting the next hearing for June 24.