Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, Delhi government on bike taxis

The Delhi government approached the SC in an appeal against the May 26 order of the high court.

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre’s stand on allowing bike taxi aggregators, including Uber and Rapido bikes, to operate in the national capital even as the Delhi government submitted that it would notify the pertinent regulations by the end of July.

he Delhi government’s notifications in February had banned the aggregators from offering any bike taxi services. (PTI)

Read here: Relief for Uber, Rapido as Delhi HC stays AAP govt's ban on bike taxis

A vacation bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal asked the Delhi government to serve a copy of its appeal against an interim order of the Delhi high court to solicitor general Tushar Mehta “so that the stand of the Union of India can be obtained.”

The Delhi government approached the SC in an appeal against the May 26 order of the high court, when the high court directed that no coercive action will be taken against bike taxi aggregators or riders till the time the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government notifies the necessary regulations.

The interim order, which is to continue till August 22 when the high court will take up the matter next, was passed on a petition filed by Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited (Rapido) and Uber India Systems Private Limited against the Delhi government’s notifications of February, banning the aggregators from offering any bike taxi services. The notifications also warned that riders found violating the rules will be fined up to ₹10,000 and even face a license suspension of a minimum of three years.

Arguing against the high court order, senior counsel Manish Vashisht appearing for the Delhi government, said that allowing private motorcycles to ply as taxis is in contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act and that the high court order did not specify the reasons while protecting the aggregators for the time being.

Vashisht said that the new regulations are in the offing. “We have invited public views and suggestions on the new policy; the last date to do so is June 24. Within a month thereafter, we will notify the regulations,” added Vashisht as he referred to the draft Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator and Delivery Service Provider Scheme, 2023.

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Appearing for the aggregators, senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Siddharth Bhatnagar, pointed out that 2004 and 2020 guidelines by the central government allow both four and two-wheelers to operate as taxis.

As the Delhi government’s lawyer objected to this contention, the bench decided to seek the stand of the Centre on the issue, directing that the copy of the appeal be served on SG Mehta to enable him to assist the court on June 12 with the Union government’s position.