The Supreme Court will hear on July 28, a petition filed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), challenging the blanket ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai will hear the plea on Monday in MC Mehta vs Union of India & Others case.
The Delhi government moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking recall of the Apex Court’s October 29, 2018 verdict that upheld the National Green Tribunal’s initial directive.
The petition stressed on the need for a comprehensive policy to tackle pollution in the Delhi-NCR region based on actual emission levels of individual vehicles as per scientific methods rather than implementing a blanket ban based solely on age.
The government contended that BS-VI engines emitted 80 percent less particulate matter and 70 percent less nitrogen oxides compared to BS-IV vehicles that were standard when the original order was passed.
The petitioner contended that if the October 29, 2018 judgment continued to operate, it would result in road worthy, non-polluting BS-VI vehicles also going off the roads in a matter of a few years without a scientific basis for the same.
The plea pointed out that there was no scientific basis for mandating that even BS-IV vehicles that met PUC norms should be taken off the roads in Delhi NCR. These were serious issues that required a fresh scientific evaluation, it added.