On Friday, the Karnataka High Court lifted the ban on bike taxi services in the State, holding that authorities cannot refuse to register a vehicle as a taxi merely because it is a motorcycle, a ruling that immediately reopens the road for app-based bike taxi operations, subject to regulatory conditions.
The verdict came on appeals filed by cab aggregators and bike taxi operators challenging an April 2025 single-judge order that had halted bike taxi services until the State framed specific rules. The appellants argued that the absence of tailored regulations could not justify a blanket prohibition, particularly when the Motor Vehicles Act permits transport registration subject to conditions.
The State, while asserting its regulatory discretion, faced sustained judicial questioning over delays in putting a workable framework in place.
Allowing the appeals, the Division Bench held that while the government may scrutinise applications and impose lawful conditions, it cannot reject them solely on the basis of the vehicle’s classification. Emphasising this limit on executive discretion, the Court directed that applications to register motorcycles as transport vehicles must be considered on their merits, observing that such permission “will not be denied on the ground that motorcycles cannot be operated as transport vehicle or contract carriages.”
The Single-Judge ban was set aside, and the State was ordered to process fresh applications in accordance with the law.
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