Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd., which operates bike taxis under the brand name Rapido, has complained to the High Court of Karnataka that the State authorities are seizing its vehicles in violation of an interim order passed by the court, which in August last year had directed the State not to take any coercive action against it.
The allegation was made before a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice C.M. Poonacha, during the hearing of a contempt of court petition filed by the company. However, the government counsel refuted the allegation, saying bike taxis of the petitioner company were seized prior to interim order passed by a single judge on August 11, 2021.
‘Virtual grant of licence’
Also, the government counsel told the Bench that the interim order passed by the judge virtually resulted in “grant of licence” to the company while pointing out that the government was yet to frame rules for grant of licence for operation of bike taxis.
The government counsel also contended that the company could not operate bike taxis without obtaining licence, while pointing out that the government had recently moved the single judge to hear the writ petition filed by the company, in which the company had questioned rejection of its application for grant of licence.
The company last year had filed a writ petition pointing out that its application for grant of bike aggregator’s licence to the Commissioner of Transport was rejected while issuing an endorsement that the company had to apply under the Karnataka Electricity Bike Taxi (KEBT) Scheme 2021.
‘Rejection erroneous’
However, the company pointed out that its application was not for operation of electric two-wheelers but general bikes and hence rejection of its application was erroneous.
The company had submitted the application seeking licence following a Division Bench order in April 2021 (in the first round of litigation over the issue of non-consideration of applications for grant of licence to bike taxis) had said that the government had to consider the applications for grant of licence as the Motor Vehicle Act had a provision for using motorcycles for hire to carry one passenger on pillion.
Meanwhile, the Bench adjourned further hearing on the contempt petition by two weeks by asking the government to file its written statements.
