SC allows sale of 2,000cc diesel cars

The Supreme Court on Friday lifted the ban on the registration of diesel SUVs and high-end cars with an engine capacity of 2,000cc and above in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The apex court, however, ordered 1% of the ex-showroom price of the vehicle as green cess.

A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Thakur modified its December 16 order passed as a measure to curb air pollution in Delhi and the adjoining cities like Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. On Friday, the bench said the “environment protection charge”, most likely to be passed on to buyers, would be a prerequisite for transport authorities in Delhi and the NCR to register any new diesel vehicle with a capacity of 2,000cc and above. The cess would be deposited in a separate account by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Court clarifies

The court clarified that the issue of diesel being a prime pollutant as well as imposition of a grees cess on diesel vehicles with a capacity of less than 2,000cc would be examined.

“A deposit of 1% of ex-showroom price of the vehicle as environment protection charge shall entitle manufacturers/ dealers to have cars registered in Delhi-NCR. Our order stands modified to that extent,” the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and R Banumathi, said. The court had earlier noted that diesel vehicles of a capacity of 2000cc and above and SUVs were more prone to cause higher levels of pollution. The court’s order would now come as a relief to auto majors Mahindra, Toyota, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz.

Mercedes Benz and others, including Society of Indian Automobile Industry, approached the court for lifting of the ban, saying they were willing to deposit a green cess. Appearing for the car companies, senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Subramanium, Mohan Parasaran and Gopal Jain submitted they were ready to deposit 1% of the ex-showroom price of a car as environment protection charge.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar lodged his objection stating that the government opposed the imposition of a cess by a court since it was an issue exclusively in the domain of the legislature. Senior lawyer Harish Salve, acting as amicus curiae in the PIL filed by environmentalist M C Mehta in 1985, contended that cess should be imposed on all diesel vehicles.