NEW DELHI: The hearing on the Delhi government's appeal against a high court decision delaying a notice to bike-taxi aggregator Rapido and allowing it to continue operating until the final policy has been issued was postponed by the Supreme Court on June 7 till June 9.
A vacation Bench of justices Rajesh Bindal and Aniruddha Bose deferred the matter after senior advocate N K Kaul, appearing for Uber, said their matter was identical in nature but was not listed for hearing on June 7. "An appeal has been filed against the decision made in our case. Let's hear this case on Friday," he said. The top court subsequently decided to take up the case on Friday.
Senior attorney Manish Vashisht raised the issue on June 5 and asked for an immediate hearing on behalf of the Delhi government. He said, the high court's decision to halt the government's notice until the final policy is announced is akin to approving Rapido's writ petition.
On May 26, the high court ordered that no coercive action should be taken against the bike-taxi aggregator until the final policy was declared in response to Rapido's petition challenging a statute that prohibits two-wheelers from being registered as transport vehicles.
The high court stated in its judgement that "The counsel for the petitioners (Rapido) submits that policy is under active consideration." Rapido's plea was listed before the registrar on August 22 for completion of pleading.
"In light of this, we hereby stay the notice and specify that the stay will be in effect until the final policy is notified. The petitioners are free to file action before the proper forum, the high court stated, if they are still unhappy when the final policy is announced.
The Delhi government order directing Rapido to immediately stop operating non-transport two-wheelers from carrying passengers on a hire-and-reward basis or for commercial purposes Transportation Services Private Limited's petition before the high court, was passed without any justification or rationale, Roppen said.
The government had issued a public notice earlier this year cautioning bike-taxis against operating in Delhi and announcing that violators could face fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.
In this regard, Rapido has also contested a show-cause notice that the municipal administration issued to it, claiming that it violates numerous fundamental and constitutional rights and was passed against the rules of natural justice.
"The direction issued by the transport department under the impugned notice is ex-facie arbitrary and passed without following due process under law, without providing any reasons for such prohibition," the plea stated.
Additionally, it stated that the city government's actions were against the Motor Vehicles Act's meaning and purpose as well as the 2020 Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines (MoRTH Guidelines), which govern the issuing of licences to aggregators.
"The transportation department has not yet established its own rules on the use of two-wheelers that are not intended for transportation as transportation vehicles for the purposes of aggregation and ride-sharing/ride-pooling.
The plea stated that "MoRTH Guidelines expressly permitted vehicle pooling in non-transport vehicles in furtherance of the central and state governments' objective of reducing traffic congestion and automobile pollution and achieving effective asset utilisation."
Additionally, it stated that a total prohibition on the petitioner's services would negatively affect the lives and means of support for a sizable number of everyday commuters, car owners, and riders.