K’taka HC declines interim relief for bike taxi operators, services to remain suspended

The Karnataka High Court has declined to grant interim relief to bike taxi aggregators, maintaining the suspension of their operations across the state.

The division bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Kameswar Rao and Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar, refused to stay an earlier single-bench order dated April 2, which had halted bike taxi services pending the formulation of relevant state rules.

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The court directed all parties, including ride-hailing platforms Ola and Uber as well as the state transport department, to submit their detailed arguments by June 20. The case will next be heard on June 24. Until then, the original order suspending bike taxi operations remains in effect, with the extended deadline now ending on June 15.

The decision comes after aggregators challenged the April ruling, arguing that in the absence of a state-specific policy, central government guidelines under the Motor Vehicles Act should govern operations. The state government, however, contended that these central directives are merely advisory unless formally adopted at the state level.

The continued ban is expected to impact bike taxi platforms including Rapido, which claims that over six lakh individuals depend on its services for income.

The court observed that interim relief would have been considered had the government expressed willingness to draft a policy, which it currently does not intend to do.