According to advocate Mukesh Kulthia, old vehicles are being banned just to promote sales of electric vehicles
In view of increasing vehicular pollution, the NGT had passed its order in 2014 banning diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 years and 15 years, respectively in Delhi-NCR. While most people have opposed the ban, there’s not much one can do in view of the NGT and Supreme Court order.
But advocate Mukesh Kulthia has a different take on the matter. He has alleged that the rule of banning diesel and petrol cars actually does not exist. To get justice, he has filed a criminal case against various officials.
Car ban challenged in court
Advocate Mukesh Kulthia has filed a criminal case in Hon’ble Gurgaon Court (Magistrate Court). The officials mentioned in the case include Navdeep Singh Virk (IPS), Transport Secretary, Haryana and other IAS officers of the Union Transport Ministry. Mukesh has shared the details of the case on various social media platforms. Just like other car users, Mukesh is not happy about the banning of old cars. He is alleging a big conspiracy and is calling the entire thing a ‘Carban Scam’.
According to Mukesh, officials are falsely citing the order of the NGT and Honourable Supreme Court to ban old vehicles. In a recent update / clarification provided on his Twitter handle, Mukesh says that the NGT order was applicable only on vehicles registered till the year 2000. He says that there is no such ban on vehicles that are registered since 2001 under BS norms. It is not clear if this is just a technical issue or a flawed interpretation of the NGT order. A clearer view should emerge as the case progresses.
Some of the arguments put forth by Mukesh include the fact that amendments have been introduced in the Motor Vehicles Act 2019, 2021 and 2023. He pointed out that RC of diesel and petrol cars and even two-wheelers still have validity of 15 years. And road tax is being collected for 15 years. In view of these factors, banning old vehicles does not make sense.
Is blanket ban the right thing to do?
Considering that the Delhi-NCR region is among the most polluted cities in the world, it makes sense to take steps to control pollution. Exhaust emissions are among the major contributors to Delhi’s polluted air. However, a blanket ban may not necessarily be the right thing to do. As there’s already a ‘Pollution Under Control’ (PUC) system in place, a blanket ban seems unnecessary.
The amount of emissions coming from a vehicle depends on various factors. For example, overall usage of the vehicle and quality and frequency of repairs and maintenance. As long as the PUC results are within the mandated emission limits, the use of blanket ban on old vehicles seems quite counter-intuitive. Probably, this recent criminal case challenging the ban will help achieve more sensible outcomes.
