SC Orders Pause on Delhi’s Age- Based Vehicle Ban

SC Grants 4 Week Relief to Delhi-NCR Vehicle Owners in Old Car Ban Dispute

The Delhi Government has taken a major step to combat its highly  polluted environment. In a ruling that was issued today, the Supreme Court of India, in a bid to provide relief to owners of older vehicles, issued an order stipulating that no coercive action should be taken in the Delhi-NCR area against diesel vehicles 10 years or older and petrol vehicles 15 years or older.

In light of the review petition being filed by the Government of Delhi, it seems the interim relief from the Court has sparked some degree of hope and pandemonium among citizens and politicians.

Background and Context

The ban on old vehicles originally emerged out of a National Green Tribunal decision from 2015 on controlling pollution, prohibiting diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from running in Delhi-NCR, a decision subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court of India in 2018.

In July 2025, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) wanted to implement these vehicle and fuel check   bans and described them as "end-of-life" vehicles. However, the operation never happened due to the disruption caused by logistical issues and opposition. 

It is in this context, the Delhi government sought a judicial review and alternatively said the age-based ban is arbitrary and a technology of the past.

The Order of the Supreme Court

A bench led by Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N. V. Anjaria issued a four-week interim order that “no coercive steps” should be taken against the affected vehicle owners until the next court sitting. This order caught the previously undivided attention of the Delhi government and produced the extent that it applies to both diesel and petrol vehicles beyond the age thresholds listed in the first set of interim orders.

What are the  Government’s arguments and implications?

The Government of Delhi was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who emphasized that it was emissions and not age that should govern the territory of enforceability. The Solicitor General noted that although older vehicles are not of current manufacture, many owners of older vehicles are using their vehicles infrequently, are still certified to travel on the public road with their valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, and with whatever emissions the vehicle is producing, emitting levels significantly lower than BS-IV compliant standards.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa celebrated the order as a “big relief” for the affected population, who were suffering under (in the minister’s words) arbitrary age restrictions.

What Happens Next?

The continuance of coercive action has been put on hold for at least four weeks, and vehicle owners can continue civilian use of their older vehicles without worrying about being penalized or denied fuel for now. The Supreme Court will hear the review plea with arguments on behalf of the Centre and CAQM. While the case may prompt a new paradigm on environmental policy, it may also balance human health, environmental imperatives, and citizen rights.

Delhi-NCR Pollution: A Middle Ground

The interim order pronounced by the Supreme Court, in effect, gave overnight and immediate humane relief to vehicle owners in Delhi-NCR while simultaneously reinforcing the need for a science-based, proportionate manner of addressing the future of regulation. Regardless of the outcome of the case, it now has the potential to revolutionize how the country perceives vehicular pollution. For now, sanity and liberation from arbitrary measures have triumphed, giving everyone in the region a moment to breathe easier, both literally and figuratively.