The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday permitted the Delhi government to take coercive action against vehicles that do not comply with Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) emission standards, modifying its earlier order that had restrained authorities from acting against older vehicles based only on age.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi clarified that protection granted by its August 12 order would apply only to vehicles compliant with BS-IV norms or higher.
Protection limited to BS-IV and newer vehicles
Allowing a plea filed by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati for the Delhi government, the bench said action could be taken against vehicles running on emission standards below BS-IV, including BS-III and earlier models.
“The order dated August 12 is modified to the extent that no coercive steps shall be taken against owners of vehicles which are BS-IV and newer, merely on the ground that they are above 10 years old in case of diesel vehicles and 15 years old in case of petrol vehicles,” the bench said.
The court clarified that while its earlier order had restrained authorities from acting solely on the basis of vehicle age, this protection was never intended to extend to vehicles with lower emission standards.
Bhati told the court that older vehicles contribute disproportionately to air pollution. “Older vehicles have very poor emission standards and they are adding to pollution,” she submitted. Her submission was supported by senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus curiae, who noted that BS-IV norms were introduced in 2010 and vehicles manufactured earlier fall under more polluting categories.
Background to the case
The directions were issued during hearings in the long-running MC Mehta air pollution case. On August 12 this year, a bench headed by then Chief Justice B R Gavai had granted interim relief to owners of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi-NCR, directing authorities not to take coercive action against them.
That order was passed while considering a plea seeking recall of the Supreme Court’s October 29, 2018 judgment, which had upheld a directive of the National Green Tribunal banning diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old from plying on roads in the National Capital Region.
The NGT had earlier ordered that all petrol and diesel vehicles older than 15 years should not be allowed to ply and could be seized under the Motor Vehicles Act for non-compliance, regardless of vehicle category or use.
The Delhi government had approached the Supreme Court against what it described as a blanket ban, arguing that age-based restrictions forced owners to sell vehicles even if their usage and emissions were low. It had sought a comprehensive study by the Centre and the Commission for Air Quality Management to assess the environmental impact of age-based restrictions versus emission-based criteria.
