Old vehicles to stay off the roads: SC's nod to NGT order

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea to bring aging vehicles back on Delhi roads as it dismissed a petition challenging the National Green Tribunal order which said that all diesel vehicles older than 10 years should stay off the roads.

"Let us assist them instead of discouraging them," said the apex court bench of Chief Justice H.L.Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra while declining a plea by a petitioner challenging the November 26, 2014 and April, 2015 (National Green Tribunal) NGT orders directing that all aging vehicles be taken off the roads.

While the NGT by its November 26, 2014 order had directed that all the vehicles which are 15-years-old would be barred from plying, on April 4, 2015, it banned all 10-year and above diesel vehicles from Delhi roads.

As the counsel sought to question the jurisdiction of the NGT to pass such an order, the court said that the NGT was only repeating the orders passed by the constitutional court.

"Such an order was passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court banning all 15-year-old vehicles from the road. They (NGT) are only repeating the orders passed by the constitutional courts", Chief Justice Dattu said while declining the petitioner's plea.

The petitioner had contended that under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Environment Statute there was no power to seize vehicles of any age limit for plying on the roads.

He said if a vehicle had a fitness certificate issued by the state transport department, the NGT could not order it off the roads.

He contended that the NGT could not exercise the powers which were statutorily vested with the transport authority under the Motor Vehicles Act passed by parliament.