Bombay High Court refuses to entertain plea against Rapido bike taxis

The Bombay High Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition filed by four auto rickshaw drivers from Thane, who alleged that bike taxis operated by aggregators like Rapido were illegally plying in the city using non-transport number plates, thereby affecting their livelihood. [Amarjeet Rajnath Gupta v. State of Maharashtra].A Bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale observed that the petitioners’ fundamental right to livelihood was not violated by the presence of bike taxis. Following the Court’s remarks, the petitioners withdrew their plea. “How does this affect your livelihood? This will stop only when you stop refusing to take people. We have seen on the streets how taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers treat customers, their tone, their high-handedness. Each one of us has faced this."The Court further noted,“Your fundamental right is not affected at all. So many taxis enter the market every year. Tomorrow, you will say taxi drivers should not ply at all, or that the Metro should not come at all. The government is competent to take decisions.”.The petitioners argued that under current laws, only vehicles registered with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) as commercial vehicles and displaying yellow number plates are permitted to operate as taxis. They claimed that when they booked rides through Rapido application, the bikes that showed up had white number plates, indicating private, non-transport vehicles.According to them, this violated their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g), and 21 of the Constitution..In response, the Additional Government Pleader Prachi Tatake, representing the State, submitted that action was already being taken against illegally operating bike taxis.Taking note of the State’s action, the Court said there was no reason to entertain the petition further.“Today, we are not going to stop. The question is about implementation of government notification. If there is any illegality, let them take action,” the Court stated.It, however, granted them the liberty to approach the State with any representation against such illegal activities. .The matter gained attention after Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had a recent run-in with an illegal bike-taxi operator near Mantralaya, Mumbai. Following the incident, the State home department issued a gazette notification on July 4 titled Maharashtra Bike-Taxi Rules, 2025. The rules formalise electric bike-taxi operations across the State and require aggregator companies to obtain a valid license before offering services.According to RTO officials, several companies, including Rapido and Uber, have already applied for the necessary licences.