Don’t harass individual bike taxi drivers, HC tells State

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, on Friday, orally directed the state government to refrain from harassing individual bike taxi drivers while addressing ongoing legal challenges surrounding app-based bike taxi services.

The directive came during a hearing before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi, following a submission by Advocate General K. Shashi Kiran Shetty, who informed the court that some aggregators had resumed bike taxi operations despite no explicit court order permitting them. Advocate Girish Kumar, representing bike taxi drivers, argued that the state was seizing vehicles of individual operators, not just targeting app-based services. In response, the Advocate General clarified, “We are not arresting individual bike taxi drivers. The claim is incorrect.”

Advocate Uday Holla, appearing for a bike taxi company, proposed a model where drivers could charge reasonable fares without aggregator commissions, but the bench refrained from commenting, deferring the matter to September 22, for further hearing. The case stems from a single-judge ruling on April 2 this year by Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad, which mandated that bike taxi aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido halt operations by June 16, unless the state framed guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The division bench, hearing appeals from these aggregators, had previously questioned the state’s blanket ban as “legally untenable,” citing the livelihoods of nearly 6 lakh families dependent on bike taxis. The court had given the state one month to decide on a policy, warning that a complete ban on a legitimate trade violates Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which ensure equality and the right to trade.

Despite the ban, some aggregators resumed services, prompting protests from auto-rickshaw unions and a complaint from the Private Transport Federation to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.

The court’s latest clarification ensures protection for individual drivers while leaving room for the state to act against non-compliant aggregators, balancing commuter needs with regulatory demands.