'No two-wheeler taxis in Delhi for now': SC stays Delhi HC order

New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) 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 city government.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal passed the order on Delhi government plea 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 bench observed that the Delhi government was in the process of formulating a policy for granting licenses to bike taxi aggregators, therefore a complete stay by the high court on the notification that prohibited their operation was unwarranted.

It said an interim order staying the whole-scale operation of a statutory regime till the finalisation of a policy was unwarranted and "we stay both the impugned orders passed by the Delhi High Court".

During the hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing Uber, argued that the livelihood of several hundred of its bike riders was at stake.

The apex court asked the high court to hear the challenge to the notification expeditiously and also gave parties the liberty to file early hearing applications before the high court.

Senior advocate Manish Vashisht, representing the Delhi government, submitted that the aggregators were operating two-wheelers without proper licenses or permits and they should not be used as taxis without a policy in place. Counsel informed the top court that the policy would be in place and the licensing regime will become operational by July 31, 2023.

Kaul stressed that the government's failure to draft a policy should not lead to a ban on the existing 35,000 bike taxi operators.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the Centre, contended that government's guidelines were issued to facilitate state governments so that they can formulate a policy for licenses to aggregators.

The apex court was hearing two separate petitions by Delhi government challenging the high court order that no coercive action should be taken against the bike-taxi aggregators until the final policy was notified.

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.

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