India, June 17 -- Bike taxi services across Karnataka came to a grinding halt on Monday after the High Court upheld its directive to suspend operations by app-based aggregators. In compliance with the ruling, ride-hailing platforms like Ola, Uber, and Rapido removed bike taxi options from their apps.

Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy confirmed the move, stating the companies are legally bound to obey the court's orders. "Three months ago, the court ruled bike taxis are illegal. It gave six weeks, then extended another six. With 12 weeks passed, the aggregators must comply," Reddy said.

The latest decision came after a division bench of the Karnataka High Court refused to stay an earlier single-judge order issued on April 2, w...