HC adjourns hearing on bike taxis ban in Karnataka till next Thursday

BENGALURU: The High Court has adjourned the hearing on the bike taxi issue to coming Thursday. The High Court’s two-judge bench is hearing appeals filed by Ola, Uber and Rapido.

Senior advocate Arun Kumar, representing Ola, argued that despite a previous court order, the government has not considered their application since 2019. The companies are seeking permission to register and operate two-wheelers under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Arun Kumar stated that the court’s previous order acknowledged that Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act pertains to aggregator regulations and licencing.

Earlier, the High Court of Karnataka issued a strict directive to the state government to take necessary steps to suspend bike taxis within the next six weeks. Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd, Ani Technologies Pvt Ltd, and others have applied for directions to the state government to consider the applications filed in 2022 for converting two-wheelers into transport vehicles.

All these applications have been filed by High Court Justice B M Shyam Prasad, who has dismissed them and issued a strict notice to Ola, Uber and Rapido to halt the operations of their bike taxis. The High Court ruled that the state government could not issue permission in this regard until proper rule are framed.