India, Aug. 22 -- The Karnataka high court on Friday said it has not permitted private aggregators to operate bike taxis in the state. It said the government was free to act against the aggregators but cautioned that individuals must not be harassed.

A bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi said this after advocate general Shashi Kiran Shetty, representing the Karnataka government, informed the court that bike taxi aggregator apps had resumed operations in Bengaluru. Shetty said this followed an earlier hearing where the court orally suggested that the government give the matter "serious thought," noting that the livelihoods of several people were "at stake". The state banned bike taxis in Karnataka on June 16.

The ben...