Rapido moves SC after it shuts operations on Bombay HC's orders

Bike taxi aggregator Rapido has moved to the Supreme Court (SC) after the Bombay High Court directed the Bengaluru-based company to stop all its operations in Mumbai, according to a report by legal media platform, LiveLaw. This order was issued after Rapido was discovered to be operating in the state without a license.
 
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has agreed to list the matter on January 23 for hearing. Rapido is represented by Senior Advocate, Mukul Rohatgi, the former attorney-general of India, who mentioned in the plea to the SC that it is a matter involving thousands of employees. 
 
The matter came into light when a few weeks ago the company was asked to submit proof of its legal operations, but Rapido couldn't provide the material in the high court. Soon after, the bike-taxi service was asked to suspend its services from January 13. The high court directed Rapido to shut its 2-wheeler passenger service, 2-wheeler parcel service, and auto service.
 
Rapido had asked the Maharashtra government to grant it a license to operate two-wheeler bike taxis in the state, but its request was dismissed because the state hasn't yet devised a policy to run operations of only bike taxis. While the company has agreed to shut its operations, the high court has said that a ban will be placed on Rapido till January 20, according to Economic Times.
 
The court has also slammed the Maharashtra government for framing an unreliable policy permitting bike taxis in the state while also asking for clarity on policy or guidelines for two-wheeler taxi services. The advocate-general Birendra Saraf, who was present in the court on behalf of the government, had asserted that prosecution against other taxi services like Uber. who also have bike taxis, has been initiated. Following this, the court told the government that it "cannot keep the issue hanging over the fire and has to take a decision immediately.".
 
Also Read: Rapido bike-taxi service suspends operations in entire Maharashtra with immediate effect