Law on gig workers will protect bike taxi riders too: Karnataka govt to High Court

Bengaluru: The government informed the high court on Thursday that the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2025, introduced in August, would protect the interests of all gig workers, including those working for platforms like Uber, Ola, Zepto. 

Advocate General (AG) Shashikiran Shetty said this before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and C M Joshi, which is hearing a batch of writ appeals pertaining to bike taxis. 

The appellants have challenged a single-bench order that ruled that unless the government notifies relevant guidelines under section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules, bike taxi services cannot operate. The bench added that measures are always open to the government to frame such guidelines. 

In August, the bench gave the government time to take a conscious decision as to whether there should be a policy on bike taxis. It had posed questions as to whether it was a conscious decision of the state to prohibit bike taxis in the absence of a policy. The bench, while granting time, had orally observed, “Give it a serious thought. There are lives at stake
here.” 

Appearing on behalf of the state on Thursday, the AG said that the Gig Workers Act would take care of individual bike riders. He submitted that despite the court’s clear direction, cab operators continue to operate bike taxis and should not be heard in the matter. 

At this stage, the bench orally remarked, “We gave you one month’s time to come up with some policy. Nothing is done and you have come up with gig workers. We will hear the
case then.” 

Senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for some of the bike taxi owners, submitted that the aggregators only provide their services free of cost to help individual bike riders connect with customers. He said that unlike autos, individual bike taxi drivers do not have auto stands and are only provided a platform.