The app-based aggregators were prevented from plying bike taxis on the road without commercial permits. 
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The app-based aggregators were prevented from plying bike taxis on the road without commercial permits. New Delhi city authorities will start impounding bike taxis belonging to bike-taxi aggregators, such as Rapido, Uber and Ola, if they don’t follow the recent Supreme Court order, which suspended their operations, a senior government official told Reuters on Tuesday.
On Monday, the apex court said the bike-taxis services will remain suspended in Delhi till further orders.
The SC said since the Delhi government is currently formulating a policy for granting licenses to taxi aggregators, the High Court's stay on the notification banning bike taxis in the capital, was not required at this point in time.
In May, the Delhi High Court had permitted the aggregators to operate in Delhi and had asked the Delhi government not to take coercive action against them till a new policy was formulated.
CM Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi had challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court.
On its part, the AAP government argued that bike taxis violate local city laws, while Uber argued the ban hurts the livelihoods of its riders.
A vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal granted liberty to the two aggregators to request an urgent hearing of their plea by the Delhi High Court.
The apex court on Monday heard two pleas filed by the Delhi government against the high court order permitting bike-taxi aggregators to operate in the national capital till notification of the final policy by the administration on plying of two-wheeler non-transport vehicles.
The division bench on Monday also recorded the Delhi government counsel's submission the final policy will be notified before July-end.
In February 2023, the Delhi Transport Department issued a public notice to stop plying their bike taxi services effective immediately.
The app-based aggregators were prevented from plying bike taxis on the road without commercial permits. The transport department 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.
Rapido challenged a show-cause issued to it by the city government in that context, saying it is in violation of various fundamental and constitutional rights, and has been passed in violation of the principles of natural justice.
The Delhi High Court in its May order said: “The counsel for the petitioners (Rapido) submits that policy is under active consideration. Accordingly, we hereby stay the notice and make it clear that the stay shall operate till the final policy is notified. However, once the final policy is notified, if the petitioners are still aggrieved, they are at liberty to take steps before the appropriate forum.”
In its petition before the high court, Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which runs Rapido, said the Delhi government order directing it to immediately stop plying non-transport two-wheelers from carrying passengers on hire-and-reward or for commercial purposes was passed without any reason or rationale.
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