SC bans sale and registration of BS-IV vehicle from 1st April, 2020

New Delhi, October 25: The Supreme Court has said, no Bharat Stage, BS-IV vehicle would be sold or registered in the country from 1st April, 2020. BS emission norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate output of air pollutants from motor vehicles.

 

The BS-IV norms have been enforced across the country since April last year. In 2016, the Centre had announced the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.

In its order on Wednesday, the apex court said, any extension of time in introducing the new emission norms would adversely impact the health of citizens as pollution has reached an alarming and critical level.

The court said, there cannot be any compromise on the health of citizens and this has to take precedence over, what it termed, the greed of few automobile manufacturers who unfortunately, want to stretch the timeline to make a little more money.

“BSVI compliant vehicles are going to be more expensive than BSIV compliant vehicles. People have a tendency to buy cheaper vehicle(s) even from a neighbouring city. We also strongly feel that the problem of pollution is not limited to the NCR of Delhi but it is a problem which has engulfed the entire country especially the major cities. India has the dubious distinction of having 15 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world,” Justice Gupta wrote in the judgment for the Bench.