The Delhi government implemented ‘No fuel for 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles’ from July 1, 2025, in compliance with the mandate from the (CAQM).
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Delhi Government’s plea objecting the blanket ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. The divisional bench headed by Chief Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai is likely to hear this case today, July 28. The plea requests the Supreme Court to review its October 29, 2018 order, which was based on a recommendation by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The plea highlighted a need for a comprehensive policy vital to combat the pollution threat in the Delhi-NCR. The policy must consider the vehicle’s actual fitness based on emissions based on scientific methods instead on implementing a blanket ban accounting to just age of the vehicle.
Current Policy Concerning Overaged Vehicles:
The End of Life (EoL) vehicle policy plea put on hold due to public backlash. The policy complied with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) guidelines that enforced a blanket ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the NCT (National Capital Territory).
Delhi govt.’s stance on the case-
“There are many vehicles that have aged, but because they haven’t been used much, their pollution levels are lower. There are so many new vehicles whose age is less but have been used a lot; so we believe that the parameter to determine pollution levels must be the use of the vehicle instead of its age,” Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa
Recently, the Delhi government implemented ‘No fuel for 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles’ from July 1, 2025, in compliance with the mandate from the (CAQM). However, within two days of its implementation, Delhi government due to the public heat, released a stay order citing ‘operational and infrastructural challenges’ as the reasons.
The counsel (Delhi Govt.) stated that a direction from the SC is required to permit such vehicles to operate after their EoL limit as the limit was decided by the court itself, hence the government cannot alter it, being a direct order from the apex court.
(With news agency inputs)
