The Delhi High Court gave an urgent hearing to plea on the "emergency-like air pollution situation" in the national capital and areas surrounding it and sought the response of the Delhi government and state pollution control committee on the measures taken to overcome it.

A vacation bench comprising justices Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal and C Hari Shankar, which heard the matter late in the evening, issued notices to the Delhi government and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) seeking their responses by July 25, the next date of hearing.

The bench observed that since the petitioner has not filed any application seeking interim relief, it cannot "do anything except issuing a notice".

The plea, which has been filed in wake of severe air pollution that has engulfed the national capital for the last couple of days, has also sought implementation of the odd-even scheme of using the vehicles.