SC bans registration of luxury diesel cars of over 2000 cc in Delhi till March 31

Apex court says common man won't be affected.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday banned registration of Diesel vehicles of over 2000cc capacity in the national capital till 31 March 2016, saying that the order will not affect the common man. In its order, the court said that all trucks which are not Delhi bound will not be allowed to enter the city. The Delhi police has been directed to ensure that trucks trying to take a shorter route via Delhi are diverted. 'Commercial vehicles, which are not Delhi bound, will not be allowed to enter national capital through entry points NH-8 and NH-1,' the court said. Commercial vehicles registered before 2005 will not be allowed to enter the city either, according to the new order. The court also ordered all taxis in the NCR region be converted to CNG by March 31 and added that pollution surcharge will be doubled in the city. The top court had observed that rich people cannot go around in luxury cars and pollute the environment, and put a ban on the registration of diesel luxury sedans and SUVs in Delhi to curb the city’s rapidly escalating air pollution. Earlier on Tuesday, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices A.K. Sikri and R. Banumathi made it clear that to begin with, luxury cars of over 2,000cc will not be allowed to be registered for three months. Noting that every citizen must contribute to bringing down pollution, the bench refused to buy the argument that the auto industry will collapse. “When people’s lives are at stake, you are interested in your business of selling cars,” the CJI had told senior counsel Dushyant Dave, who argued that a ban was not the correct solution.