The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed there will be no coercive action for now against those driving 10-year old diesel and 15-year old petrol vehicles in Delhi, effectively staying the implementation of its own 2018 order which signed off on an earlier ruling of the National Green Tribunal.
The rationale cited for the ban was that keeping older vehicles off the roads would combat the National Capital Region’s noxious air.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, with Justices Vinod K Chandran and NV Anjaria, issued notice to the central government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on a plea by the Delhi government, which has challenged the blanket ban on what are termed “end-of-life” vehicles.
The matter will be heard again after four weeks.
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SC directive 'big relief' for people, says Delhi govt
Reacting to the Supreme Court's order against coercive action, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a video message that the directive comes as a “big relief for residents of Delhi”.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the Supreme Court's order against coercive action, Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a video message that the directive comes as a “big relief for residents of Delhi”.
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi government has argued in its plea that the “end of life” for a vehicle be determined not by its age but by its pollution level and the number of kilometres it has run, he said.
The petition came after rising public outrage, particularly after the Delhi BJP government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta rolled out a "no fuel for old vehicles" policy in July. The policy was paused within two days.
The government cited logistical hurdles and infrastructure gaps in enforcing the ban. Following this, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued a directive to enforce the ban on refuelling across Delhi-NCR from November 1 instead.
This impending ban was then challenged by the Delhi government before the Supreme court, citing that the original restrictions lacked scientific backing.
The NCT government's petition thus seeks a review of the 2018 order passed by the Supreme Court which essentially banned 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR.
The ban dates back to 2014-15 after the National Green Tribunal directed that older vehicles should not be allowed to function in Delhi-NCR in order to combat pollution levels.