The Karnataka High Court (HC) on Thursday allowed bike taxi services to operate in the State, subject to registration and permit requirements under the Motor Vehicles Act, and set aside a earlier single-judge order that had halted operations by platforms such as Rapido, Uber, and Ola, as per a report by The Hindu.
The court directed authorities to register motorcycles as transport vehicles and grant contract carriage permits, while allowing the State government to impose additional licence conditions under existing rules.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi allowed appeals filed by Uber India Systems Private Limited, Rapido operator Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, ANI Technologies Private Limited, the Bike Taxi Owners’ Welfare Association, and individual bike taxi owners. In doing so, the bench overturned an April 2, 2025 order that had restrained bike taxi operations across Karnataka.
What the court changed
The division bench set aside the single judge’s conclusion that bike taxi aggregators could not operate unless the State notified guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which governs the licensing of transport technology aggregators, and framed rules under that provision.
The earlier order had also declined to direct the government to register motorcycles as transport vehicles or issue contract carriage permits, a position that effectively shut down bike taxi services from June 16, 2025.
At the same time, the court clarified that the State government retains the authority to regulate bike taxi operations and may impose additional conditions while issuing licences to transport technology aggregators under the existing regulatory framework.
State’s position and defence before the High Court
The Karnataka government has consistently maintained that motorcycles cannot legally be used to carry passengers for hire. During hearings in November 2025, the State argued that a motorcycle cannot qualify as a transport vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act and that the statute does not envisage motorcycles carrying passengers for hire or reward.
On that basis, the government refused to issue permits even when platforms expressed willingness to comply with a permit regime, as previously reported by MediaNama.
At the same time, the State relied on its decision to withdraw the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, 2021, in 2024 while defending its position against bike taxi operations. In response, aggregators told the division bench that the withdrawal was not based on any formal study but driven by political considerations, including resistance from auto-rickshaw and cab driver unions.
They argued that, in any case, the State cannot rely on the scheme’s withdrawal to impose a de facto prohibition when the Motor Vehicles Act already permits such vehicles.
Arguments before the division bench
The court heard the appeals against…
Source link
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
