Supreme Court orders no action against owners of 10+ year old diesel vehicles, 15+ year old petrol vehicles in Delhi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that no coercive action be taken against owners of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi [MC Mehta vs. Union of India].

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria passed the order.

"Issue notice returnable in 4 weeks. In the meantime no coercive steps to be taken against the owners of cars on the ground that they are 10 years old in respect to diesel vehicles and 15 years old with respect to petrol vehicles," the Court stated in its order.

The matter will be heard again after four weeks.

"Earlier, one used to use cars for 40-50 years. Now still vintage cars are there…" the Bench remarked orally.

The order was passed in an application file by the Delhi government seeking a review of the apex court's 2018 order which banned 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in the National Capital Region (NCR) as a pollution control measure.

In an application filed as part of the MC Mehta v. Union of India case, the Delhi government submitted that the 2018 directive was not based on any scientific study or environmental impact assessment.

The application explained that there are now stricter pollution control measures in place, such as the enhanced coverage of the Pollution-Under-Control (PUC) certificate system and implementation of Bharat Stage-VI standards (BS-VI Standards).

Adherence to BS-VI pollution control norms was made mandatory in 2020, after the Court's 2018 order, the application pointed out.

"Bharat Stage VI engines are significantly less polluting ... if the order of this Hon'ble Court dated 29.10.2018 continues to operate, it will result in road worthy, non-polluting BS-VI vehicles also going off the roads in a matter of a few years without a scientific basis for the same," the plea said.

It also noted that at present, there are cleaner forms of fuel available and that the use of electric vehicles has also been promoted to reduce pollution, among various other measures.

The Delhi government further highlighted that the 2018 ban has caused practical hardships to a large number of people in Delhi who are the owners of vehicles that are otherwise compliant with pollution norms.

These vehicles, it noted, often clock far fewer kilometers each year and contribute very little to the overall pollution.

The application also flagged the harm caused to the second-hand car market, which remains the only viable option for many poor and lower-middle-income families looking to own a four-wheeler.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, pointed out the difficulties due to the ban.

"I have a vehicle. I use it for going from court to home and back to court. After 10 years it will be 2000km. Somebody uses it for taxi, in 2 years it will be 1 lakh km. So my vehicle I have to sell because 10 years have passed but that 1 lakh km run vehicle will continue running. There has to be no coercive steps because the police is under an obligation to seize the vehicles," he said.

After hearing the SG, the Court directed that no action be taken against owners of end of life vehicles.

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