Supreme Court Allows Car Owner To File Representation Against Ban On 10-Year-Old Diesel & 15-Yr-Old Petrol Vehicles In Delhi-NCR

The Supreme Court on Friday (October 25) allowed an applicant to file a representation before the Delhi Government authority raising grievances against the ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi NCR. 

The applicant, who challenged the ban, sought an alternative direction that it should not be given retrospective effect before April 7, 2015, the date on which the National Green Tribunal passed the order which forms the basis for the guidelines.

"Learned senior counsel appearing for applicant seeks to withdraw the applications with liberty to file appropriate representation to the concerned the authorities concerning the guidelines dated 20th February 2024 so far as prospective or retrospective operation is concerned. We therefore dispose of the application by granting liberty to the applicant to make representation which will be decided by appropriate authority in accordance with law", the Court stated.

The Court said that if the authority passes an adverse order, the applicant will be at liberty to challenge the same in accordance with the law.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing an Interlocutory Application filed in the MC Mehta case challenging the “Guidelines for Handling End of Life Vehicles in Public Places of Delhi, 2024” issued by the Delhi Government in February 2024 providing that diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are not allowed to ply in Delhi NCR.

The applicant sought an alternative relief that the Government's direction should apply only prospectively.

Senior Advocate Aparajitha Singh, the amicus curiae in the MC Mehta case, told the bench that the direction of the National Green Tribunal, based on which the guidelines were issued, has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The bench said it cannot decide in the present proceedings whether the guidelines issued pursuant to the NGT order are retrospective or prospective.

"Unless you challenge that order... How can we disturb the direction issued by NGT? So long as the order of NGT is not modified we can't do anything. How can we clarify whether that order is prospective or retrospective?Independent proceedings have to be filed This is not Article 226 jurisdiction. We are only monitoring orders passed in MC Mehta[case]," Justice Oka said.

The senior counsel representing the applicant then sought to withdraw the application with the liberty to file a representation before the authority. Granting such liberty, the application was disposed of.

The applicant, one Nagalakshmi Laxmi Narayanan, has challenged the blanket vehicle scrappage policy stating that it mandates the scrapping of vehicles regardless of their fitness or compliance with emission norms. The application has been filed through advocate Charu Mathur in the long-running MC Mehta v. Union of India case regarding pollution in Delhi NCR.

The applicant claims to be the owner of a 2014 Audi diesel vehicle purchased before the NGT order. Under the policy, her vehicle will be prohibited from use in Delhi from December 2024, despite the registration certificate being valid till December 2029.

The applicant has contended that these guidelines are arbitrary as they fail to consider the actual emissions of individual vehicles. 

The application argues that the policy disproportionately affects vehicle owners who purchased their cars before these orders, causing financial loss and depriving them of the full use of their vehicles without adequate compensation.

The applicant has contended that the NGT and subsequent orders do not clarify whether the policy should be applied retrospectively or prospectively, creating uncertainty for vehicle owners who purchased their vehicles before the NGT's order in 2015.

The applicant has contended that the scrappage policy disproportionately affects middle- and lower-income groups who cannot afford to replace their vehicles prematurely. Vehicle owners are also not being compensated for the unused portion of their registration fees, which they paid expecting their vehicles to last the full 15-year period, the application states.

The application contends that modern emission testing technologies are available, and some older vehicles—if well maintained—may still meet emission standards. Therefore, the scrappage mandate should be based on a vehicle's actual environmental impact, not solely on its age.

Case no. – IA in Writ Petition (C) No. 13029 of 1985

Case Title – Nagalakshmi Laxmi Narayanan v. Union of India in MC Mehta v. Union of India