SC Seeks Centre's Stand on Delhi Govt's plea challenging HC order on Rapido

The Supreme Court has requested the Centre to provide its stance on the plea filed by the Delhi government, challenging a high court order that stayed a notice issued to bike-taxi aggregators Rapido and Uber. 

The high court order permitted these aggregators to continue their operations until the final policy regarding their functioning is officially announced.

A vacation bench comprising justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal directed the petition copies to be served to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, stating, "Let the copy of both petitions be served upon the Solicitor General so that views of the Union of India can be taken into account. List on Monday."

During the hearing, senior advocate Manish Vashisht, representing the Delhi government, argued that the high court's decision to suspend the government's notice until the final policy is announced is equivalent to virtually granting relief to Rapido.

On May 26, the high court issued a notice to the Delhi government in response to Rapido's plea, which challenged the law excluding two-wheelers from being registered as transport vehicles.

The high court ruled that no coercive action should be taken against the bike-taxi aggregator until the final policy is implemented. It also specified that Rapido's plea would be heard on August 22 for the completion of the pleading process.

In its petition to the high court, Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, the operator of Rapido, contended that the Delhi government's order to immediately cease plying non-transport two-wheelers for passenger transport or commercial purposes lacked any reasonable basis.

Earlier this year, the government issued a public notice cautioning bike taxis against operating in Delhi and warned that violations could result in aggregators facing fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.

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