4 months ago
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In a large acceptable backmost to the State Government connected January 23 arsenic the High Court of Karnataka permitted cognition of motorcycle taxis portion directing the authorities to registry bikes arsenic transport vehicles and assistance declaration carriage permits to them nether the Motor Vehicles Act.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi delivered the judgement portion allowing the appeals filed by transport exertion aggregators- Uber India Systems Pvt. Ltd., Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd., which operates Rapido services, and ANI Technology Pvt. Ltd, which operates Ola services, and Bike Taxi Owners Welfare Association, and Varikruti Mahendra Reddy and different idiosyncratic motorcycle taxi owners.
Single judge’s verdict
The appellants had challenged the April 2, 2025 judgement of a azygous judge, who had restrained Rapido, Ola, and Uber from cognition of their motorcycle taxi services. The azygous justice had ruled that unless the State authorities notifies the applicable guidelines nether Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the applicable rules framed nether this provision, Rapido, Ola, and Uber cannot relation arsenic aggregators for motorcycle taxis.
The Bench has present acceptable speech the azygous judge’s verdict and fixed liberty to the Government to enforce further conditions for licence nether the contiguous rules for transport exertion aggregators.
Also, the azygous justice had refused to contented absorption to the Government to to registry motorcycles arsenic “transport vehicles” and contented them declaration carriage permits truthful that Rapido, Ola, and Uber tin run motorcycle taxi services.
Besides, the azygous justice had accepted the State government’s contention that licences for motorcycle taxi aggregation cannot beryllium considered nether the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules 2016 arsenic it is ‘applicable lone to assistance licences to tally four-wheeler vehicles arsenic taxi work connected exertion aggregator platforms.
The azygous justice initially had directed the aggregators to halt services of motorcycle taxis done their platforms wrong six weeks and aboriginal extended the deadline till June 15, 2025. Meanwhile, the aggregators had filed these appeals earlier the Division Bench (DB) challenging the azygous judge’s verdict.
Arguments earlier DB
Before the part bench, it was argued connected behalf of aggregators that the State authorities has nary powerfulness successful instrumentality to garbage either registration of two-wheelers arsenic transport vehicles oregon assistance of declaration carriage permits to them to transportation a rider nether the “guise of argumentation decision” erstwhile the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act permits two-wheelers to beryllium utilized arsenic declaration carriage transport vehicles.
However, the Government has contended that it is the ‘policy decision’ not to let motorcycle taxis portion pointing retired adjacent the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, 2021, which was introduced successful July 2021, was withdrawn successful 2024.
But the aggregators had contended that withdrawal of the electrical motorcycle taxi strategy successful 2024 was not connected a study-based determination but it was owing to ‘political reasons’ citing instrumentality and bid concern allegedly arising owed to continuous confrontation betwixt the drivers of autorickshaws/maxi-cabs and the riders of motorcycle taxis, and the motorcycle taxi strategy lacking extortion to women commuters.
Also, a pistillate commuter, told the Court motorcycle taxis are safer, much affordable, and convenient to women commuters erstwhile compared to different modes of nationalist transport similar buses and cabs, and motorcycle taxis were being utilized for last-mile connectivity successful Bengaluru arsenic adjacent metro work is faced with this issue.
In August 2025, the part seat had orally asked the State authorities not to instrumentality immoderate precipitative enactment against idiosyncratic motorcycle taxi owners oregon drivers for operating their vehicles and ‘not to harass’ them.
