The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed bike taxi aggregators, including Rapido, to halt their operations in the state within six weeks.

The bench of Justice B Shyam Prasad issued the order while dismissing petitions filed by Ropeen Transportation Services Private Limited, the parent company of Rapido, along with other taxi aggregators such as Uber and Ola (ANI Technologies).

The petitioners had sought legal recognition for bike taxis by requesting permission to register such vehicles (with Internal Combustion Engines/ICE) as transport vehicles. They also urged the Court to direct authorities to establish a legal framework for regulating bike taxi services.

Additionally, Rapido sought an order restraining authorities from interfering with its business operations.

In April 2022, a Bench led by Justice Jyoti Milimani had granted interim relief to the petitioners, preventing authorities from taking coercive action against them. This interim relief had allowed Rapido to continue operations until now.

Justice Prasad, who first heard the matter in 2023, dismissed the petitions, ruling that the Court cannot compel the State to formulate regulations as requested by the petitioners or mandate the registration of non-transport vehicles as transport vehicles.

Consequently, the Court ordered all bike taxi aggregators to cease operations within six weeks.