New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to modify at this stage its December 16 order banning registration of diesel vehicles of 2000cc and above and SUVs which are generally used by more affluent sections of our society as they more prone to cause higher levels of pollution.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices A.K. Sikri and Ms R. Banumathi, however, agreed to hear the applications filed by carmakers including Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota and Mercedes and asked them to produce evidence in support of their contention that diesel vehicles are less or more polluting than petrol.
The companies had sought modification of the order, imposing the ban.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi and Aryama Sundaram submitted that the pollution caused by diesel vehicles of 2000 cc was only 0.2 per cent when compared to vehicles of 1000 cc or more. No country in the world has ever banned diesel vehicles, it was pointed out.
The Bench refused to lift the ban and asked them to prove it at a later date. The CJI told the counsel, “Which class of people are using 2000cc vehicles? It’s used by rich only. You are saying diesel vehicles pollute less. Are your vehicles emitting Oxygen?”
The bench indicated that it will consider imposing a one time cess on all diesel vehicles at the time of purchase.
The CJI observed “if anyone goes for diesel vehicle he must know that he is buying a polluting vehicle and those buying these vehicles must pay like the polluter pays.”
The Supreme Court said it was is exploring all options to control air pollution in Delhi.
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