August 14, 2025

NEW DELHI: Heads up for vehicle owners in Delhi! The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a big sigh of relief to those whose older petrol and diesel vehicles were under threat of being seized. The apex court said no tough or coercive steps should be taken against owners of overage cars for now. It also agreed to revisit its 2018 order that banned petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years from running on city roads. This fresh twist came after senior govt lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Aishwarya Bhati, asked a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud to rethink the ban. Their argument? The rule was hurting regular Delhi citizens and the idea that older cars always pollute more is outdated thanks to new tech and BS VI emission standards. The Delhi government's plea emphasized the need for a smarter, balanced plan to fight pollution. Instead of a simple age-based ban, they want a scientific system that checks pollution data from each vehicle separately. This way, the environment can be protected while responsible car owners won’t be unfairly punished. Adding fuel to the debate, a senior citizen who owns a 2011 BMW filed a petition fearing his car might be impounded. His lawyer, Charu Mathur, insisted that banning vehicles just by their age without testing their fitness or emission levels was illogical and demanded a rethink. The bench, including Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, quickly agreed to hear the petitions. They issued a notice and asked for replies in four weeks, meanwhile ordering that no coercive action should be taken against owners of such vehicles. The 2018 Supreme Court ban wasn’t enforced strongly until last year, when attempts to impound vehicles caused public uproar, forcing authorities to pause the move. This public reaction prompted the Delhi government to request the top court to reconsider the rule. In its application, the government pointed out, "If the order dated 29.10.2018 continues, even road-worthy, non-polluting BS-VI vehicles will be forced off roads without any scientific reason. There’s no solid basis for taking BS-IV vehicles off roads if they meet Pollution Under Control norms. We need a fresh scientific review." They added, "The 2018 order was an emergency measure when BS-IV norms were active and BS-VI cleaner standards hadn’t started. Now, to tackle pollution in NCR, a comprehensive policy is needed that checks the actual emission levels of each vehicle carefully rather than banning by age alone." So, Delhi’s old and new vehicle saga is far from over. Stay tuned for what the Supreme Court decides next in this vibrant battle for clean air and fair rules!

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Tags: Supreme court, Vehicle ban, Delhi pollution, Bs vi emission norms, Overage vehicles, Delhi government,