The Mumbai Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against a director of Rapido, the bike taxi aggregator, for allegedly operating illegal transport services through its mobile application without the necessary government approvals.
The FIR was lodged at Amboli Police Station following a complaint filed by Harshal Sose, a 41-year-old inspector from the Andheri (West) Regional Transport Office (RTO), acting on behalf of the Regional Transport Commissioner.
According to the complaint, the Rapido app was used to run unlicensed bike taxi services in Mumbai, in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which mandates prior government authorization for such operations. The app, it was alleged, misled passengers by offering services without securing legal permission, thus breaching regulatory norms.
"The Rapido app was being used to operate illegal transport services in the city," said Harshal Sase, a Vehicle Supervision Officer with the RTO, as quoted in reports. “The operators had not received government authorization and were deceiving passengers.”
The FIR also raises serious safety concerns, particularly for women passengers. It states that Rapido failed to conduct background or character checks on its drivers and did not implement basic safety protocols, potentially endangering public security.
Legal action has been initiated under Sections 223 (disobedience to public servant's orders) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.
This development marks another setback for app-based mobility platforms amid ongoing debates about their legal status in various Indian states, particularly in light of regulatory ambiguities surrounding two-wheeler taxi services.
