Delhi government challenges the blanket ban on 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles. Supreme Court may consider shifting to emission-based criteria.
New Delhi: Today, on July 28, the Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the blanket ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
This ban has been in force following an earlier order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which was later upheld by the Supreme Court on October 29, 2018.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai is likely to hear the fresh plea today.
In this petition, the Delhi government has asked the court to take back or recall the 2018 order and allow a more scientific approach to determine whether vehicles should be allowed on the road or not.
The Delhi government argued that a more balanced and scientific policy is needed to deal with pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.
Instead of banning all old vehicles based only on their age, the petition says vehicle fitness should be checked through proper emission testing.
The petition suggested that vehicles that are still fit and not polluting much should be allowed to run, even if they are old.
The Delhi government asked the court to order a detailed study by the Central Government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to see what actually helps the environment more—age-based restrictions or emission-based checks.
Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, speaking to news agency ANI, supported this view and said,
“There are many vehicles that have aged, but because they haven’t been used much, their pollution levels are lower. There are so many new vehicles whose age is less but have been used a lot; so we believe that the parameter to determine pollution levels must be the use of the vehicle instead of its age.”
Earlier on July 24, a bench headed by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said they will look into whether BS-VI (Bharat Stage VI) compliant vehicles also need to follow the same end-of-life limits of 10 years for diesel and 15 years for petrol vehicles in Delhi-NCR. BS-VI is the latest emission standard which ensures cleaner fuel and lower emissions.
To understand the issue better, we need to go back to the Supreme Court’s order from October 29, 2018.
In that ruling, the court had agreed with the National Green Tribunal’s earlier direction which said that all diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years must not be allowed to run on the roads in Delhi-NCR.
The NGT had passed its strict order on November 26, 2014, saying:
“All vehicles, diesel or petrol, which are more than 15 years old shall not be permitted to ply on the roads and wherever such vehicles of this age are noticed, the concerned authorities shall take appropriate steps in accordance with law, including seizure of the vehicles in accordance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.
“The vehicles which are more than 15 years old, will not be permitted to be parked in any public area, and they shall be towed away and challenged by the police in accordance with the law. This direction would be applicable to all vehicles without exception i.e. two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers, light vehicles and heavy vehicles irrespective of whether commercial or otherwise.”
Recently, the Delhi government also announced a strict policy from July 1, 2025, under which petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years would not be allowed to refuel at petrol pumps.
This move was in compliance with the Commission for Air Quality Management’s (CAQM) guidelines.
But within just two days of announcing this rule, the Delhi government put the policy on hold. Facing heavy public criticism and practical difficulties in implementing it, the government said it was temporarily stopping the rule due to
“operational and infrastructural challenges.”
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