SC halts vehicle ban: Relief for old car owners in Delhi-NCR | Fusion - WeRIndia

In a significant move, the Supreme Court offered interim relief to owners of old diesel and petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR.

The court restrained authorities from taking coercive action against diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.

The relief came while the Bench, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai, heard a plea from the Delhi Government.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi, argued against a blanket ban.

He said private vehicles are often used sparingly, unlike commercial cabs that clock heavy mileage in a short span.

He pointed out that a personal car might only run 2,000 km in ten years, yet must be sold.

Meanwhile, a taxi may run over 2 lakh km in a year but still remain road-legal for longer. This, he said, was unfair and impractical.

The Supreme Court, however, noted that the matter requires hearing from other parties.

It issued a notice and made the order returnable in four weeks. Until then, it said, no coercive steps should be taken against owners of older vehicles.

The issue stems from a 2015 order by the National Green Tribunal. That order banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi-NCR.

The Supreme Court upheld this ban in 2018 due to severe air pollution concerns.

However, the Delhi Government sought a review, particularly for BS VI-compliant vehicles, which meet the latest emission standards. These vehicles are cleaner and were introduced in India in 2020.

Adding to the pressure, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) recently proposed stopping fuel supply to such vehicles from July 1, 2025. After the backlash, it postponed the move to November 2025.

The matter remains under consideration. But for now, vehicle owners have temporary protection from forced deregistration or penalties.

This ruling offers some breathing space to thousands of owners in Delhi-NCR who were staring at potential losses worth lakhs of rupees.

Image Credit: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fueling_diesel_car_20180227.jpg