Delhi HC declines plea against non-BS-VI vehicle entry ban, cites SC hearing

The petition by a Noida-based advocate was rejected to avoid parallel proceedings, with liberty granted to approach the Supreme Court.

The Delhi High Court on Saturday refused to consider a petition challenging the Delhi government’s decision to bar entry of vehicles registered outside the capital that do not meet Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms, noting that the Supreme Court is already seized of the issue and has been issuing relevant directions.

The curbs target BS-III and BS-IV vehicles during severe pollution episodes, triggered when AQI exceeds 450 under GRAP norms. (Sakib Ali/HT)

The Delhi government had on Wednesday issued a notification stating that vehicles registered outside Delhi and complying with emission standards lower than BS-VI would not be allowed to enter the city starting Thursday. However, the final order clarified that the restriction would apply only when Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is in force. Stage 4 is triggered when the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 450, categorised as “Severe Plus”.

The ban applies to all non-Bharat Stage-VI vehicles, primarily BS-III and BS-IV models, entering Delhi from outside. Vehicles running on CNG, electricity and those engaged in essential services have been exempt.

A bench of justice, Sachin Datta, passed the order after Delhi government counsel Sameer Vashisht submitted that the issues raised in the plea were already under consideration before the Supreme Court. Hearing the petition filed by Sonica Ghosh, a practising advocate and Noida resident, Vashisht argued that entertaining the petition would result in a plurality of proceedings, which would be inappropriate.

He also pointed out that a division bench comprising chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela had, on December 3, refused to consider a similar petition seeking directions to curb air pollution on the same ground.

Accepting the submissions, the court declined to entertain the plea and granted Ghosh liberty to approach the Supreme Court. “Perusal of the notification reveals that the same has been issued to address the problem of air pollution,” the court said, adding that the apex court had passed “elaborate orders” on similar issues in ongoing proceedings.

In her petition, Ghosh argued that the notification was implemented without adequate notice, hearing, transitional safeguards or any compensatory mechanism, and that it affected the free mobility of people in Delhi-NCR with a potential impact on livelihoods.

Separately, the Supreme Court on Wednesday termed existing pollution control measures in Delhi-NCR a “total failure” and asked the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to frame a comprehensive long-term strategy addressing urban mobility, cleaner industrial processes, energy use and stubble burning, stressing phased implementation and coordinated interstate action.