Supreme Court Refuses Plea Against Delhi's Vehicle Scrappage Policy

The Supreme Court declined to hear a plea challenging Delhi's 2024 vehicle scrappage policy targeting older diesel and petrol vehicles. The petitioner argued it violated property rights and failed to distinguish between emission levels, urging proper legal channels to address grievances over retroactive guideline application.

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea against Delhi's 2024 policy mandating the scrapping of older diesel and petrol vehicles. Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih instructed the petitioner, Nagalakshmi Laxmi Narayanan, to pursue appropriate legal avenues.

The court reiterated that challenges to such guidelines should be addressed through substantive petitions, noting that previous attempts to overturn the National Green Tribunal's order were dismissed. Consequently, the plea in the M C Mehta case, aimed at combating pollution, was allowed to be withdrawn.

The petitioner claimed that the policy retroactively affected vehicles purchased before 2015, infringing on property rights and failing to account for actual emissions. The plea highlighted the lack of classification based on pollution levels, in disregard of modern testing technologies, as arbitrary.

(With inputs from agencies.)