Synopsis
Karnataka government will challenge the High Court's decision allowing bike taxi services in the Supreme Court. The state argues that bike taxis cannot operate without proper regulations in place. This move comes after the High Court's January 23 judgment, which overturned a previous ban on the services.Listen to this article in summarized format
“We have time till April 23 to file the appeal, which we have decided to pursue,” a highly placed source told ET. Chief minister Siddaramaiah has given a go-ahead to the transport department, headed by Ramalinga Reddy, to argue the state’s stand against bike taxis in the apex court.
“When we have no regulation, how can the government permit bike taxis? That is going to be our argument in the Supreme Court,” government sources said, in a message that will come as music to autos, the unions of which are opposed to bike taxis.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi allowed appeals filed by ride-hailing services, including ANI Technologies (Ola), Uber and Rapido, as well as the Bike Taxi Welfare Association, against the single-judge bench’s order.
In March 2024, the state government banned bike taxi services, holding that ride-hailing platforms were not offering electric two-wheelers that were required under the prevailing policy. The operators petitioned the HC against the ban. However, Justice BM Shyam Prasad of the HC in April last year said ride-hailing platforms were not allowed to offer bike taxi services until a policy was in place. The judge ordered a halt to the service until the state framed rules under the Motor Vehicles Act to regulate the segment.
