Truck entry ban at 4 more points, SUV curbs stay

CJI-led bench to hear plea by top carmakers to lift ban on diesel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to modify at this stage its December 16, 2015 order banning the registration of diesel vehicles of 2000 cc and above and SUVs, used by more affluent people, as they are more prone to causing higher levels of pollution.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices A.K. Sikri and R. Banumathi, however, agreed to hear applications by carmakers Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota and Mercedes, asking them to produce evidence in support of their claim that diesel vehicles are less or more polluting than petrol. The companies sought modification of the December 16 order imposing the ban.

In the previous order, the bench had banned the entry of heavy commercial vehicles at two entry points to the national capital region. On Tuesday, after hearing amicus curiae Harish Salve, the bench extended the ban to four additional entry points, National Highways 2, 10, 58 and state highway 57, into Delhi. It, however, allowed the entry of such Delhi-bound commercial vehicles if they paid the environment compensatory surcharge.

Earlier Mr Salve explained how the December order had resulted in fewer number of vehicles entering the city and the consequent reduction in air pollution.