The top court has issued a notice on Delhi government’s application challenging the ban on diesel and petrol vehicles in the capital. The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday has directed that no coercive action will be taken against the owners of 10-year old diesel vehicles and 15-year old petrol vehicles in Delhi.
The matter was heard by a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices Vinod K Chandran and NV Anjaria. Upon hearing the matter, a notice was issued to a notice on Delhi government’s application challenging the ban on diesel and petrol vehicles in the capital.
“In the meantime no coercive steps 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,” CJI Gavai was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
In July, the Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta rolled out the “no fuel for old vehicles” policy. However, due to public backlash, the policy was paused within 2 days of its announcement. The government cited logistical hurdles and infrastructure gaps to enforce the ban effectively. Following this, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued a directive to enforce a ban refuelling for end-of-life vehicles across Delhi-NCR from November 1.
This ban was then challenged by the Delhi government before the Supreme court, citing that the restrictions lacked scientific backing. The NCT government’s petition also seeks a review of the 2018 order passed by the Supreme Court which banned 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR.
The ban on old vehicles dates back to 2015 after the National Green Tribunal directed hat older vehicles should not be allowed to function in Delhi-NCR in order to combat pollution levels in the capital region. This 2015 order was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
