The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain an
appeal filed by Rapido challenging the Maharshtra government's denial
to grant two-wheeler bike taxi aggregator licence to the company.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said the
amendments made to the Motor Vehicles Act in 2019 clearly state that without a
valid licence, as aggregator cannot operate.
The bench, also comprising
justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, noted that the Pune RTO had
rejected the company's plea for licence in December 2022.
Rapido moved the apex court against the Bombay High Court's order,
which declined to entertain its plea against the state government's refusal to
grant a two-wheeler bike taxi aggregator licence to the company.
The top court granted
liberty to the company to move the high court to challenge the January 19
notification issued by Maharashtra, and also asked the high court to examine it
is uninfluenced by the earlier order.
The state government had
said there was no policy on licensing of bike taxis and there was no fare
structure policy. It contended before the high court that a committee has been
constituted to consider developing guidelines for bike taxis in the state.
The high court had
directed the company to suspend the services immediately, noting that it was
operating without procuring a licence from the Maharashtra government.
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