New Delhi: SC brings back ELV ban on BS-III vehicles

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, passed the order on a recommendation made by the CAQM seeking a modification to the court’s August 12 order on the grounds that the older vehicles have poorer emissions standards.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ended protections granted to end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) that are not compliant with BS-IV or higher emission standards in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), modifying an earlier order that barred coercive action against such vehicles.

This will allow action to now be taken against 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles if they only meet BS-III, BS-II, or BS-I emission standards.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, passed the order on a recommendation made by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) seeking a modification to the court’s August 12 order on the grounds that the older vehicles have poorer emissions standards and were adding to the region’s pollution load.

The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said, “The August 12, 2025 order is modified to the extent that no coercive steps shall be taken against the owners of BS-IV and newer emission standard vehicles on the ground that they are 10-year old diesel and 15-year old petrol vehicles.”

This will allow action to now be taken against 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles if they only meet BS-III, BS-II, or BS-I emission standards.

Currently, it said, there are 5.3 million BS-III, 3.8 million BS-II, and 1.4 million BS-I vehicles in Delhi-NCR.

On August 12, the court had granted protection to all ELVs on an application moved by the Delhi government. The government contended that emission standards have significantly improved with technology and there did not appear to be a scientific basis for mandating that even BS-IV vehicles which meet pollution norms should be taken off the roads in Delhi-NCR.

The government had said, “The directive to off road vehicles purely on the basis of age disproportionately affects middle-class citizens whose vehicles are less used, well-maintained, and compliant to fuel norms. It is submitted that the studies indicate that these vehicles often have significantly lower annual mileage and contribute negligibly to overall emissions.”

Represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, the CAQM, however, noted that vehicular pollution is one of the most significant contributing sectors to the generally poor air quality in Delhi-NCR and that the pollution load of these vehicles is manifold compared to the present BS-VI standards — effective in Delhi from April 2018 and in NCR from April 2019.

In its report to the court, the CAQM said, “For controlling vehicular emissions, BS-III and below standard vehicles are required to be kept out of purview of order dated August 12, 2025 of the Supreme Court considering the emission potential of these vehicles in comparison to BS-VI emission standards.”

About 93% of the vehicles plying in Delhi-NCR are Light Motor Vehicles (LMV) and 2-wheelers, a large section comprises those which are compliant with BS-III standards or lower, it further noted, adding that a comparative analysis of pollution load by BS-I (the oldest) shows a 12 times increase in nitrogen oxide emissions and 31 times jump in particulate matter (PM) when compared with BS-VI.

“Since Delhi-NCR faces an extraordinary situation, specially during the winter season due to poor dispersal of pollutants on account of unfavourable meteorological conditions, there is a need to restrict plying of polluting vehicles based on emission standards in Delhi-NCR,” the report said, adding that it has been over 15 years, 20 years, 24 years since BS-III, BS-II, and BS-I standard vehicles began plying, respectively.

In April this year, the CAQM had issued directions denying fuel to all EoL vehicles in Delhi starting November 1 this year and in five high-vehicle density NCR districts from April 1, 2026. That order was put in abeyance after the August 12 order.

Prior to the August order, there was a complete ban on all EoL vehicles from plying on Delhi-NCR roads after the Supreme Court, on October 29, 2018, upheld initial orders passed in this regard by the National Green Tribunal.