Bike taxis banned in Karnataka from June 16

BENGALURU: Bike taxis in Karnataka will be shut down from June 16 after a division bench of the High Court refused to stay a single judge’s order banning the service.

The division bench, comprising Justices Kameshwara Rao and Srinivas Harish Kumar, heard the appeals filed by bike taxi operators, including Ola and Uber, against the single judge’s order.

During the hearing, senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, representing the petitioners, requested permission for the bike taxi service until the next hearing. The two-judge bench questioned the government about the time it is taking to formulate rules regarding bike taxis. The bench also said that a stay order is not possible since new rules have not been formulated. The court adjourned the hearing for 10 days.

The court had previously given bike taxi operators six weeks to shut down their operations, which was later extended to June 15. However, bike taxi operators, including Rapido, Ola and Uber, had approached the court seeking an extension to the deadline. The judge, who considered the request, finally extended the deadline to shut down bike taxi operations to June 15.

The operators had requested an extension, but the court refused, stating that it couldn’t grant a stay without new regulations in place. ANI Technologies (owned by Ola) had filed an appeal in the court on June 11, challenging the April 2 order, and Uber on June 2. The division bench’s decision means that bike taxi services will cease operations in Karnataka from June 16.