In a setback to aggregator Rapido and Uber, operating two-wheel bike-taxi services in the national capital without licence, the Supreme Court on Monday restored the Kejriwal Government’s February 19, 2023 notification prohibiting their operations and stated that the Delhi High Court’s May 26, 2023, order permitting their operation, interfered with prevailing statutory regime, was “unwarranted”.

Putting on hold the May 26 interim order of the Delhi High Court staying February 19, 2023 Delhi government notification prohibiting the operation of two-wheel bike- taxi services by aggregator Uber and Rapido, a vacation bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal said that “under the circumstances, in our opinion an interim order staying the operation of a statutory regime is unwarranted.”

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Uber told the vacation bench that there are 35,000 bike-taxi services vehicles operating in the national capital. The bench was told that any prohibition will affect their likelihood. Pointing to discrimination, Uber also told the bench that while bike-taxi services carrying passengers as pillion riders is stopped but bike-taxi service for carrying cargo is continuing.

The top court order came as it noted that the Delhi government’s policy concerning the grant of license to operate two-wheel bike-taxi services will be operational by July 31, 2023. The vacation bench was informed that a draft policy for inviting suggestions/objections was published on May 23 and the exercise involved in it will be over by June 24 and the final policy will be out by July 31, 2023.

Disposing of the petitions by Delhi government challenging the High Court order and the one by Uber, the vacation bench said that the High Court will decide the matter pending before it without being influenced by the comments and the opinion expressed by them in the course of the hearing today.

At the outset of the hearing, the vacation bench asked the Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain whether aggregators can operate bike-taxi service without licence from the state government.

In response, Jain said that though aggregators come under the Centre and the guidelines relating to their operations including non-transport vehicles were framed in 2020, the registration of aggregators and the issuance of the licences came under the domain of the State government and no operations could be carried out without licence.

Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul representing Uber argued that there were Centre’s guidelines governing the operations of aggregators and vehicles including non-transport vehicles and the same will prevail in absence of State policy regulating it including licences.

However, an unimpressed bench said that the 2020 guidelines could not override the statutory regime in voyage. “Can this (centre’s guidelines) overcome the statute,” Justice Bose asked senior advocate Kaul.

The vacation bench also brushed aside Uber’s reference to the Bombay High Court order and the subsequent order of the top court in relation to the Bombay High Court order. The bench said that the issue before the Bombay High Court was in respect of the aggregators as a whole and not the operation of two-wheel bike-taxi services, which is the issue in Delhi.

In the last hearing of the matter on June 9, the Supreme Court had sought the Centre’s stand on Delhi government’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s order staying February 19 notification prohibiting the bike-taxi aggregator Rapido and Uber from operating bike-taxi services. Following the May 26 High Court order, the two aggregators resumed bike-taxi services.