No coercive action on 15-year petrol, 10-year diesel vehicles: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (12 August) ordered that no coercive action be taken against owners of petrol vehicles more than 15 years old and diesel vehicles more than 10 years old, granting interim relief in a petition challenging the existing End-of-Life (EoL) vehicle policy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Vinod K Chandran and NV Anjaria agreed to hear the petition questioning the current age limits for diesel and petrol vehicles.

The court has issued a notice to the government, seeking its response.

During the proceedings, Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, mentioned the case out of turn, arguing that the rule applied unfairly to all vehicles regardless of usage.

“My vehicle will run about 2,000 km in its lifetime, a taxi may run a lakh km, but my car will also be disallowed,” he pointed out.

The Delhi government has separately moved a plea seeking a review of the SC order on the 10/15-year cap, while multiple petitions from vehicle owners in the capital are also pending.

Under the present EoL policy, diesel vehicles over 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old are classified as end-of-life. A previous order had directed that such over-age vehicles would not be allowed to purchase fuel in Delhi from 1 July, regardless of the state in which they are registered.

The policy has previously been criticised by Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa as “premature” and “potentially counterproductive,” citing operational difficulties and calling for bans to be based on scientific data rather than arbitrary age limits.

According to government figures, Delhi has approximately 6.2 million EoL vehicles, including 4.1 million two-wheelers, while the wider NCR region has around 4.4 million such vehicles, concentrated mainly in high-density urban areas.

Also Read: Sports Bill will end stagnation; bring in transparency: PT Usha in Rajya Sabha