Will the Winter Entry Ban on vehicles registered outside Delhi and below BS-VI standards be paused while a lawyer’s challenge is heard? Not for now: the Delhi High Court has declined a stay and fixed the challenge for hearing on November 27.
New Delhi: There will be no relief for now from the Winter Entry Ban. The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to stay a Delhi government notification that keeps out vehicles registered outside the national capital and falling below BS-VI emission standards between November 1 and January 31 every year, and fixed a lawyer’s challenge to the curb for hearing on November 27 [Gurmukh Dass Kohli v. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and Ors.].
The order of November 2, 2026 was passed by a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma, which noted that another similar matter is also due to be heard on that date.
What stays in force until November 27
For now, owners of older vehicles registered in neighbouring States such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh cannot enter Delhi until at least the end of November, unless the Court rules otherwise at the next hearing. The notification has been in force since November 1, and the Court has not yet examined the merits of the challenge.
Courts are generally slow to stay pollution-control measures at the interim stage, particularly in the winter months when air quality in the capital is at its worst. Standing Counsel Sameer Vashisht appeared for the Delhi government.
A Faridabad lawyer’s petition
Faridabad-based lawyer Gurmukh Dass Kohli is the petitioner. He has challenged paragraph 4 of a June 23, 2026 notification issued by the Delhi government’s Department of Environment and Forests under the Environment (Protection) Act, which prohibits vehicles registered outside Delhi and below BS-VI standards from entering the capital from November 1 to January 31 each year.
Kohli says he owns a BS-IV petrol car registered in Haryana. According to the petition, the restriction discriminates between vehicles on the basis of where they are registered rather than how much they actually pollute, since a comparable BS-IV vehicle registered in Delhi is not subject to the same prohibition.
The grounds in the petition
The petition argues that the blanket three-month restriction applies irrespective of daily air quality, and is inconsistent with the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the Commission for Air Quality Management, which provides for staged restrictions linked to pollution levels. It alleges that the notification violates Articles 14, 19(1)(d) and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantee equality, free movement throughout India and the freedom to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
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The question the case raises
The larger question is whether a pollution curb can draw its line on the basis of a vehicle’s place of registration rather than its emission standard, and whether a fixed seasonal ban can sit alongside the graded, AQI-linked restrictions under GRAP. The answer will matter to commuters from across the NCR, including lawyers, whose Bar body has already sought exemptions from the curbs.
Case Title: Gurmukh Dass Kohli v. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and Ors.
Bench: Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma, Delhi High Court
Date of Order: November 2, 2026
For the Petitioner: Advocates Anurag Saxena, Sonica Ghosh and Deepak Atrey
For the Delhi Government: Standing Counsel Sameer Vashisht