From November 1, advocates who drive in from Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurugram could find themselves caught by the Delhi BS-VI Vehicle Curbs, and the Supreme Court Bar Association has asked the Supreme Court administration to take up exemptions with the Delhi Government.
New Delhi: Vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet BS-VI emission standards cannot enter the national capital from November 1, 2026, and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has approached the Supreme Court administration for intervention, asking that advocates commuting to the Supreme Court be given appropriate exemptions or relaxations [SCBA Letter to the Secretary General, Supreme Court of India].
Dated October 31, 2026, the letter is signed by SCBA Honorary Secretary Pragya Baghel and addressed to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court. It wants the matter raised with the Delhi Government and the authorities concerned, with a particular eye on advocates who live in the neighbouring States of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Lawyers who travel in every day
A large number of advocates practising before the Supreme Court make the journey daily from Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram and other parts of the National Capital Region, the Bar Association pointed out. Junior lawyers in particular often depend on their own vehicles to reach court and attend to their cases.
The letter says the restriction would cause considerable hardship to members of the Bar and could disrupt the smooth administration of justice. It also recalls that the Supreme Court, in its earlier orders, had allowed vehicles conforming to older emission standards to be used, subject to prescribed conditions.
In the words of the letter:
“Advocates are an integral and indispensable part of the administration of justice, and any restriction affecting their daily commute to the Supreme Court would have a direct bearing on the effective discharge of their professional obligations.”
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What the curb covers
The restriction forms part of the Delhi Government’s winter measures against vehicular emissions, which add to the capital’s recurring air pollution. Between November 1, 2026 and January 31, 2027, vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not comply with BS-VI norms are not allowed into the city. Vehicles running on compressed natural gas (CNG) or electricity, and emergency service vehicles, are among those exempted.
A request to the Registry, not a petition
The SCBA has urged the Supreme Court Registry to take the matter up with the Delhi Government and the authorities concerned, so that suitable exemptions or relaxations can be worked out for advocates who need to travel to the Supreme Court. The letter is addressed to the Court’s administration. It is not a petition on the judicial side, and no order has been passed on it so far.
The High Court Bar wrote a day earlier
The Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) had written to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi a day before. Its President, Senior Advocate N Hariharan, sought in a letter dated October 30 an exemption from the BS-VI restriction for judges, lawyers and court staff.
What turns on the Delhi Government’s answer
Delhi’s measures against vehicular pollution have long been shaped by the Supreme Court’s own environmental orders, and the SCBA’s letter leans on that history by noting that the Court has earlier allowed older-standard vehicles to ply on conditions. The question it raises is whether a general emission rule should carry a carve-out for people whose work requires them to reach the Court each day.
Neither the SCBA nor the DHCBA has challenged the pollution measure itself; both have framed their requests around access to justice. Whether the Delhi Government grants any relaxation, and on what terms, will decide how the curb plays out for lawyers commuting from across the NCR through the winter months.
Subject: SCBA request for exemption of advocates’ vehicles from Delhi BS-VI entry restriction
From: Pragya Baghel, Honorary Secretary, Supreme Court Bar Association
To: Secretary General, Supreme Court of India
Date of Letter: October 31, 2026
Restriction in force: November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027