No coercive action against overage vehicles: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In a relief to owners facing the threat of their overage vehicles being impounded by city authorities, Supreme Court Tuesday directed no coercive action be taken against them and agreed to re-examine its 2018 order by which it had banned the plying of over 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles.

The respite came after SG Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Delhi govt, appealed to a three-judge bench led by CJI Gavai to recall the order on the grounds it was causing hardships to citizens of Delhi and that pollution, contrary to assumption, is not directly related to the age of vehicles due to advancements in technology and use of BS VI emission norm.

In its application, govt said there was a need for a graded, balanced and technology-driven regime to handle vehicular pollution, and that instead of an age-based blanket ban, a scientific and data-driven framework should be developed that considers all relevant indicators to ascertain pollution by individual vehicles. It submitted such a policy would ensure not only the protection of the environment through the phasing out of polluting vehicles but also preserve the rights of responsible vehicle owners.
No scientific basis for taking overage vehicles off roads, govt pleaded in apex court

A senior citizen and owner of a 2011 BMW car, apprehending impounding of his vehicle, also moved the court and his lawyer Charu Mathur contended that a complete ban on vehicles based on their age rather than fitness or compliance with emission norms was wrong and needed to be examined. The bench, also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, after a brief hearing, agreed to examine their plea. "Issue notice. Returnable in four weeks. In the meantime no coercive steps should be taken against the owners of (such) vehicles on the ground... List it after four weeks," it said.

The 2018 SC order was not vigorously implemented by authorities and was done only last year, which led to public outcry, following which the drive to impound the vehicles was halted. This compelled govt to seek recall of the SC order.

The govt in its application said, "It is submitted that if the order of this 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. Further, it is respectfully submitted that there does not appear to be a scientific basis for mandating that even BS-IV vehicles which meet PUC norms should be taken off the roads in Delhi NCR. It is submitted that these are serious issues which may require a fresh scientific evaluation".

"It is respectfully submitted that the order passed by this court was originally passed as an emergency measure during a period when BS-IV emission standards were in force and the migration to BS-VI, which has much stricter and advanced norms, had not yet commenced," the govt said. "However, it is submitted that to tackle the issue of pollution in NCR, a comprehensive policy is required which gives vehicle fitness based on the actual emission levels of an individual vehicle as per scientific methods rather than implementing a blanket ban based solely on the age of the vehicle," it said.