Karnataka High Court: The Karnataka High Court on Friday lifted the ban on bike taxi services in the state and set aside the earlier single judge order upholding the Siddaramaiah government’s ban. The verdict was delivered by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi.
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Karnataka High Court: The Karnataka High Court on Friday lifted the ban on bike taxi services in the state, setting aside a single judge’s earlier order upholding the Siddaramaiah government’s ban. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi delivered the verdict while allowing appeals filed by several aggregators, including Ola and Uber, and stated that bikes can be used as transport vehicles subject to legal permissions.
The court set aside the April 2025 ban order and directed bike owners and aggregators to apply for licenses, and directed the government to issue permits in accordance with existing laws.
The court said the state could examine all relevant aspects of the applications, but it could not deny taxi registration merely because the vehicle was a motorcycle.
The order stated, “Taxi owners are permitted to apply to register their motorcycles as transport vehicles or contract vehicles, and the state must consider these applications in accordance with the law. Aggregators are also free to submit new applications, which will be processed in accordance with the court’s directions.”
A complete ban on bike taxi services in the state was imposed in June last year. The Karnataka government implemented this ban following a High Court ruling that upheld an earlier government order. That order declared platforms like Rapido, Ola, and UberMoto illegal because there was no clear regulatory framework for them.
At the time, aggregators appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to immediately intervene to stop the ban, warning that it would jeopardize the livelihoods of millions of people and disrupt their affordable daily commute.
However, two months later, bike taxi operator Rapido resumed services in August 2025 without court permission, following which the Karnataka State Private Transport Association filed a formal complaint, terming the company’s act as contempt of court.
