The order had sparked a backlash and was then deferred to November 1.
In a major relief for car owners in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), the Supreme Court has said no coercive action will be taken against those who own diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which is a central anti-pollution panel for Delhi and neighbouring states, had ordered in July that fuel supply be stopped to vehicles that fall under the "end-of-life" category. Vehicles older than the number of years mentioned in the order were also supposed to be scrapped in keeping with a Supreme Court order from 2018.
Following a backlash and intervention by the Delhi government, the CAQM order was deferred till November 1.
After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the petition by the Delhi government against the order on Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria said no coercive steps should be taken against the owners of diesel vehicles that are over 10 years old and petrol vehicles that are over 15 years old.
The bench also issued a notice to the Centre and CAQM.
"Issue notice, returnable in four weeks. In the meantime, we direct that no coercive steps be taken against the owners on the ground that vehicles are 10 years old in respect of diesel vehicles and 15 years old in respect of petrol vehicles," the bench said.
When the petition had been filed, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa had said the situation had changed significantly since 2018.
"The situation of 2025 is totally different from 2018, and there are many modern technologies available now. We want to apprise the honourable court, and that's why we have filed the review," Mr Sirsa had told NDTV.
"If a vehicle is polluting, it should be banned, regardless of whether it's five years old or fifteen. Pollution should be the criterion, not the age of the vehicle," he added.
