Bike taxi services resume, but Karnataka High Court clarifies no judicial nod given
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has clarified that it had not passed any order permitting ride-hailing companies to resume bike taxi services, a day after such operations were seen returning to city roads.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru observed that while the state government is free to act against bike taxi aggregators in accordance with law, enforcement authorities must refrain from targeting individual vehicle owners.
During a hearing on August 20, the bench had adjourned the matter to September 22, giving the government time to decide whether it intended to frame a policy on bike taxis.
On Friday, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty informed the court that several operators had restarted services despite there being no judicial order permitting them to do so.
Counsel representing bike taxi riders countered, saying that enforcement authorities were seizing motorcycles belonging to individual owners.
The bench clarified that its earlier concern was limited to protecting riders and owners from undue hardship and urged the state not to take “precipitate action” against them. “Don’t harass the individual owners,” Chief Justice Bakhru told the Advocate General, who assured the court that no such action would be taken.
The court made it clear that it had not issued any interim order in the matter and that the appeals were listed for final disposal.
The petitions before the division bench were filed by Uber India Systems, ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ola), Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd. (Rapido) and others.
Earlier, on April 2, 2025, a single-judge bench had ruled that bike taxi operations could not be permitted unless the state notified guidelines under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and relevant rules. The order had also held that the government could not be compelled to process aggregator licence applications.
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Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
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