Supreme Court Seals Roads for Diesel Vehicles in Delhi

The registration of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and other diesel cars with an engine capacity of 2,000 cc or more is banned in the Capital and the surrounding region with immediate effect until March 31. Delhi Police will come up with alternate routes for such commercial vehicles, the court said.

The bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and R Banumathi, however exempted new commercial light-duty diesel vehicles from prohibition on being registered in Delhi “on account of the dependence of the public on such vehicles for supply of essentials”.

The court also clarified that no non-Delhi destined trucks can enter the city from National highways 1 and 8 and specified that no truck registered prior to 2005 can ply on the roads of Delhi.

Delhi is considered to have some of the most polluted air in the world, as measured by levels of tiny particles that can find their way deep in the lungs and that cause lasting health problems.

In the short term, the Honourable Court’s order today, affects the sales of some of the Company’s products in NCR.

The Supreme Court has also asked all the private cabs operating in the city to convert to Compressed Natural Gas or CNG by March 1 next year.

It clarified that the order banning registration of diesel-run vehicles, which will be operational from January 1, 2016 to March 31, will not include passenger cars whose engine capacity is below 2000 cc. “Why do you let the opportunity go?” the bench said.

It has ordered a temporary ban on the sale of large diesel vehicles and stopped trucks more than 10 years old from entering the city.

However, the lawyer and the environmental campaigners who brought the case to the Indian Supreme Court will not stop here as they want the order to be extended beyond the capital to other cities affected by toxic smog.

The Delhi diesel ban episode has left several automakers shocked as it would reflect poorly on their sales performance in the new year. This the primary step from the apex court to curb the pollution in Delhi.

In a separate ruling this week, the country’s environment court slapped a ban on new registration of all diesel vehicles for almost four weeks in New Delhi, although it was unclear if authorities were carrying out the order.