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The court further clarified that the protection from penal action will apply only to BS-IV and newer vehicles, even if they are more than 10 years old in the case of diesel vehicles or more than 15 years in the case of petrol vehicles.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi passed the order while modifying its August 12 direction, which had banned punitive action against all diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the National Capital Region.
The amendment came at the request of the Delhi government, which had sought permission to take action against old vehicles in view of the air pollution crisis in the capital.
The top court said its August 12 order was modified to ensure that no punitive action would be taken against vehicles older than BS-IV and newer vehicles, more than 10 years for diesel and more than 15 years for petrol vehicles, on the basis of age only. Thus the Supreme Court ended the protection for vehicles with BS-III and below emission standards in Delhi-NCR.
The court acted on the recommendation of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which had flagged the pollution impact of old vehicles and sought review of the August 12 order.
In 2015, the National Green Tribunal directed that diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years should not be allowed to ply in Delhi-NCR to curb pollution. The Supreme Court upheld the NGT direction in 2018.
In 2024, the Delhi government issued guidelines for operation of vehicles parked in public places.
The Delhi government had earlier ordered that fuel will not be supplied to end vehicles at petrol pumps from July 1, 2025, but the decision was later put on hold following public reaction.
Subsequently, the Delhi government approached the Supreme Court seeking amendment to the vehicle age-based ban, resulting in an August 12 order providing protection from stringent action irrespective of emission standards.