New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to stay a Delhi government notification barring vehicles registered outside the National Capital Territory (NCT) and falling below BS-VI emission standards from plying in the city during the winter months. However, it issued notice to the respondents on a petition challenging the restriction.
A bench led by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre declined to grant interim relief at this stage and sought responses from the authorities. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 27.
The petition challenges Paragraph 4 of Part I of a notification dated June 23, 2026, issued by the Department of Environment and Forests, Government of NCT of Delhi, under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
According to the plea, the direction states that vehicles registered outside the NCT and falling below BS-VI emission standards will not be permitted to ply in Delhi from November 1 to January 31. The petition states that the restriction automatically comes into force every year on November 1.
The petitioner has challenged the restriction, arguing that it treats otherwise comparable vehicles differently based on their place of registration. The plea contends that a BS-IV vehicle registered outside Delhi is barred from entering the city during the specified period, while a comparable BS-IV vehicle registered in Delhi is not subject to the same restriction.
The petition also questions the proportionality of the three-month blanket restriction, arguing that it applies irrespective of the Air Quality Index on a particular day. It further contends that the restriction is inconsistent with the staged framework for vehicular pollution control under the Graded Response Action Plan.
The petition seeks suspension of the direction and its eventual quashing to the extent challenged.
Advocate Anurag Saxena appeared for the petitioner along with Advocates Sonica Ghosh, Deepak Atrey and Gurmukh Dass Kohli.
The respondents include the Government of NCT of Delhi, its Department of Environment and Forests and Transport Department, Delhi Police, the Commission for Air Quality Management and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
