The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that no coercive action be taken against owners of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in the National Capital Region (NCR), while hearing a plea by the Delhi government challenging the blanket ban on such vehicles.
SC Bench Issues Notice To Centre, CAQM
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Bhushan R Gavai and Justices Vinod K Chandran and NV Anjaria issued notices to the Union government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), seeking their response within four weeks.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, highlighted the lack of differentiation between vehicles based on usage. “I have a vehicle. I use it for going from court to home and back to court. After 10 years it will be 2000 km. Somebody uses it for taxi, in 2 years it will be 1 lakh km. So my vehicle I have to sell because 10 years have passed but that 1 lakh km run vehicle will continue running. There has to be no coercive steps because the police is under an obligation to seize the vehicles,” Mehta argued, as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The Chief Justice responded by saying, “Issue notice. Returnable in 4 weeks. In the meantime, no coercive steps are to be taken against the owners of the car on the ground that they are 10 years old in respect to diesel vehicles and 15 years old with respect to petrol vehicles. List it after 4 weeks.”
According to Bar and Bench, he also remarked, “Earlier one used to use cars for 40–50 years. Now still vintage cars are there…”
Delhi Government’s Plea
According to news agency PTI, the Delhi government moved the apex court on July 26, challenging the October 29, 2018 order that upheld the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directive banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in NCR.
The plea argued for a comprehensive policy that determines a vehicle’s roadworthiness based on actual emission levels through scientific testing, rather than imposing a blanket age-based ban. It also called for a study by the Centre and CAQM to assess whether age-based restrictions deliver tangible environmental benefits compared to emission-based criteria.
Earlier NGT Directions
In its November 26, 2014 order, the NGT had directed that diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old should not ply in NCR. It further stated that such vehicles should not be parked in public areas and, if found, must be towed and challaned by police in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act. The order applied to all categories of vehicles—two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, light vehicles, and heavy vehicles—irrespective of whether they were for commercial or personal use.
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