The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court order, which allowed the two-wheeler taxi aggregators to operate till finalisation of a policy by the Delhi government.
A bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal passed the order on a plea by Delhi government against the high court order, which stayed a notice to bike-taxi aggregator Rapido and allowed it to operate till the final policy has been notified.
The top court said an interim order staying the whole-scale operation of a statutory regime till the finalisation of policy was unwarranted and “we stay both the impugned orders passed by the Delhi High Court”.
On May 26, the Delhi High Court had put a stay on the public notice and show cause notice issued by the city Transport Department, halting the ride-sharing platforms.
A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna directed the Transport Department to refrain from taking any coercive measures against Rapido and other ride-sharing platforms until a comprehensive policy is formulated.
In February, the app-based aggregators were prevented from plying bike taxis on the road without commercial permits.
The Transport Department, ordering an immediate halt to the bike taxi services provided by these platforms, had warned that any violation will result in penal action.
The public notice by the Transport Department said that the companies defying the orders will be fined up to Rs 1 lakh, as the use of bikes for commercial purposes violated the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
20230612-155804
