Will move SC seeking uniform rules for overage vehicles, says Delhi CM

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Sunday that the BJP government will approach the Supreme Court seeking uniform rules for overage or ‘end of life’ vehicles in the national capital that are in line with the regulations followed across the country.

Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has also written to Ms. Gupta, urging her government to file a review petition in the apex court. He said it is “irrational” that a 10-year-old diesel vehicle is deemed to have reached the end of its life in Delhi while remaining “roadworthy” in other parts of the country.

A 2018 Supreme Court judgment had banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi as part of efforts to reduce vehicular pollution.

“We will tell the Supreme Court about the pollution control measures taken by the government. Parameters applicable in the rest of the country should apply to Delhi too. We don’t want Delhiites to face any inconvenience,” Ms. Gupta told reporters.

In his letter, the L-G acknowledged that air pollution is a shared responsibility and must be tackled with urgency and foresight. He called for a more “balanced and technologically advanced framework” to address vehicle emissions. “The policy execution must also reflect principles of legality, fairness, and socio-economic sensitivity,” it stated.

‘Put ban on hold’

Last week, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote to the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), requesting that it put on hold its directive to deny fuel to ELVs at petrol pumps. He also objected to the impounding of such vehicles identified through automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. The CAQM is yet to respond.

On April 23, the CAQM had directed that all ELVs identified through ANPR or similar systems at fuel stations would be denied fuel from July 1 in Delhi, from November 1 in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, and Sonipat, and from April 1, 2026, in the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Delhi government initially supported the CAQM’s directive, and from July 1, the Transport Department and the Delhi police began impounding ELVs at fuel stations. However, within days, Mr. Sirsa wrote again to the CAQM, urging the panel to pause the enforcement of the ban.