The Supreme Court changed its August order, which had stopped any action against the owners of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the Delhi-National Capital Region.
A bench made up of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi, and Vipul Pancholi stated that vehicles with Bharat Stage-III or lower emission standards can face enforcement action, including impounding, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Supreme Court ban vehicles older than 10 years
In 2018, the Supreme Court prohibited diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi to help reduce air pollution. The ban started on July 1.
Under this directive, end-of-life vehicles not allowed to refuel. To support the ban, automatic number plate recognition cameras set up at nearly 350 petrol pumps throughout the national capital to identify these vehicles.
In an interim order on August 12, the Supreme Court ruled that no action taken against older vehicles while reviewing a petition from the Delhi government.
BJP label the ban
The Bharatiya Janata Party government labeled the ban on older vehicles as “arbitrary” and argued that the 2018 order created real difficulties for many people in Delhi.
It also pointed out that there are now stricter pollution control measures, such as improved coverage of the Pollution-Under-Control certificate system and the introduction of Bharat Stage-VI standards.
The Supreme Court order on Wednesday was prompted by a request from the Commission for Air Quality Management, which stated that the blanket protection was hindering state authorities’ ability to address higher-polluting vehicles, as reported by Bar and Bench. The commission informed the court that of the nearly 2.3 crore vehicles in Delhi-NCR, around 37% operate on BS-III or older standards. These vehicles emit between 2.5 and 31 times more particulate matter than models that meet BS-IV and higher standards.
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