The Bombay High Court on Friday disallowed ride-sharing company Rapido’s appeal contrary to a Maharashtra government order denying it a license to function bike taxis in the state.
Justices GS Patel besides SG Dige disallowed Rapido’s petition, saying it could not prove that the request for the license was rejected by the government only because there was no policy put in the home by the state.
Rapido has been in the lawful crosshairs related to its bike taxi services in several states, as taxis require creamy number plates to operate lawfully in the country.
Bike owners in India classically have regular white number plates. These do not permit a driver to ferry travelers in return for cash.
The lawyer instead of the state argued that the reason why a policy is not in place for bike taxis is because of the security concerns related to transporting passengers in non-transport vehicles, giving to reports.
The government delivered a notification on the same on January 19.
The announcement “impacts Rapido’s innovative business” model which services about 200,000 drivers, the company said in a declaration.
“Rapido is assessing judicial remedies, including arising from the rejection of its license attributed inter alia to lack motorbike taxi policy in the state,” a representative for Rapido said.
The Bombay HC on January 13 neat Rapido to stop services in the state until January 20 as the state government was yet to deliver a license for it to operate in the state.
Law firm DMD Advocates looked on behalf of Rapido after the company approached the court following a rejection by carriage authorities in Pune for an aggregator’s license for family members to bike taxis and auto rickshaws.
Read More: Swiggy lays off over 6% staff to tame costs! here’s everything you should know!