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2023 Supreme(Del) 3738
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Prateek Jalan, J.
Ms. Seema Chopra – Appellant
Versus
Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors. – Respondents
W.P.(C) 10749 of 2023 and W.P.(C) 10759 of 2023 & CM APPL. 41686 of 2023 etc.
Decided On : 22-08-2023
For petitioners:
Mr. K.K. Bhuchar and Mr. Atul Bhuchar, Advocates in Item 1.
Mr. Kanwal Chaudhary, Advocate in Item No. 2.
Mr. Shubham Ahlawat, Advocate in Item No. 4
Mr. Ajay Kohli, Ms. Dipika Prasad and Mr. S.S. Sobhi, Advocates in Item No. 5.
Mr. Prabhjit Jauhar, Ms. Ajunee Singh, Ms. Gauri Rajput & Mr. Bhanu Thakur, Advocates in Item No. 9.
Mr. Arijit Prasad, Senior Advocate with Mr. Ishan Kapoor, Ms. Gargi Khanna & Mr. Lalit Khanna, Advocates in Item No. 10.
Mr. Adviteeya, Advocate in Item No. 40.
Mr. Piyush Sharma, Mr. Aditya Naryan Prasad, Ms. Arani Mukherjee & Mr. Armaan Verma, Advocates in Item No. 43.
Mr. Umang Tyagi, Advocate in Item No. 64.
Mr. Varun Goswami, Mr. Naveen Grover, Mr. Hritik Chaudhary, Advocate for petitioners in Item No. 65.
Mr. Abhigyan and Mr. Nitin, Advocates in Item No. 70.
Mr. Siddharth & Mr. Amit Kumar Agrawal, Advocates in Item No. 73.
Mr. Kshitiz Garg, Advocate in Item No. 74.
Mr. Rohit Job, Advocates in Item No. 75 and 76.
Mr. Shubham Ahlawat, Advocate in Item No. 77.
Mr. Sahil Mongia, Mr. Rahul Yadav and Mr. Shahil Rao, Advocates in Item No. 78.
For respondents:
Mr. Sameer Vashisht, ASC GNCTD with Mr. Vanshay Kaul, Mr. Aman Singh Bhadoria, Ms. Harshita, Advocates with Mr. Shahzad Alam, Special Commissioner, Transport in Item No. 1 to 5, 64, 65, 75 to 78.
Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Advocate for R-2 in Item No. 2.
Ms. Meghna Mishra, Mr. Ankit, Mr. Rohit Kumar and Mr. Atul Sinha, Advocates in Item No. 4.
Mr. Chirag Madan, ASC with Ms. Ravleen Sabharwal, Mr. Manoviraj Singh & Mr. Rahul Agarwal, Advocates for R-1/MCD.
Mr. Anurag Nasiar, Advocate for R-3 in Item No. 73.
Mr. Dhruv Gautam, Advocate for R-2 in Item No. 40.
Mr. Sanjeev Sabharwal, SC for MCD in Item No. 40.
Ms. Meghna Mishra, Mr. Ankit Rajgarhia, Mr. Rohit Kumar and Mr. Atul Sinha, Advocates for R-2 in Item No. 64.
The court emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of vehicular air pollution while recognizing the petitioners' interest in retaining their valuable assets.
Headnote:
Seizure - End-of-Life Vehicles - Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - Rules, 2021 - Rules, 1993 - [Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Rules, 2021, Rules, 1993]
Fact of the Case:
The petitions concern the seizure of vehicles by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi on the ground that they are classified as 'End-of-Life Vehicles' under the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021.
Finding of the Court:
The court directed the petitioners to file undertakings with the Enforcement Officer, Department of Transport, GNCTD, stating that the vehicles will not be plied or parked in any public space within the territory of NCT of Delhi and will be removed from the NCT of Delhi within two weeks after release. The court also directed GNCTD to frame a policy for the release of such vehicles on the given undertakings by the owners.
Issues: Validity of seizure of parked vehicles, compliance with NGT and Supreme Court orders, and availability of private parking space.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the specific objective of the NGT and Supreme Court orders, intended to address the issue of vehicular air pollution, is not compromised by releasing the vehicles to the petitioners with the given undertakings.
Final Decision: The petitions were disposed of with directions for the release of vehicles on undertakings and framing of a policy by GNCTD for the release of such vehicles.
ORDER
1. These petitions concern seizure of vehicles by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi ["GNCTD"] on the ground that they are petrol vehicles of over 15 years of age or diesel vehicles of over 10 years of age, and thus classified as "End-of-Life Vehicles" under the Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules, 2021.
2. The genesis of the issue lies in two orders passed by the National Green Tribunal ["NGT"] in O.A. No. 21/2014 [Vardhaman Kaushik vs. Union of India and Ors.]. By an order dated 26.11.2014, the NGT passed various directions aimed at combatting the problem of air pollution in Delhi. The order of the NGT, insofar as it is relevant to the present case, is extracted below:
"...We have heard the Learned Counsel appearing for the parties. It is undisputed and in fact unquestionable that the air pollution of NCT, Delhi is getting worse with each passing day. An article published in the Times of India today has been brought to the Notice of the Tribunal. It is based on the studies carried out. It not only projects the very dismayed state of affairs existing with clear indication that worst is likely to follow. This article even declares that it may not be safe for the residents of Delhi to go out for morning arising to heavy pollutants present in the air. It is primarily carbon and particulate matters which are injurious to human health, particularly to lungs and ENT diseases. The time is more than right at this stage, when mere consideration of these issues at different levels, could not resolve the issue and no one would help in controlling the increasing air pollution in Delhi. It is a constitutional and statutory duty of all the authorities and Ministries to provide clean air to the people to breathe. It is their fundamental right and it cannot be subjected to limitation of the state of any kind and be permitted to loose sight in the realm of planning and anticipated actions....
...In the meanwhile, we issue the following directions:
1. All vehicles, diesel or petrol, which are more than 15 years old shall not be permitted to ply on the roads and wherever such vehicles of this age are noticed, the concerned authorities shall take appropriate steps in accordance with law including seizure of the vehicles in accordance with the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.
2. The vehicles which are more than 15 years old, will not be permitted to be parked in any public area and they shall be towed away and challaned by the police in accordance with law. This direction would be applicable to all vehicles without exception i.e. two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers, light vehicles and heavy vehicles irrespective of whether commercial or otherwise...."
[Emphasis supplied.]
3. By a further order dated 07.04.2015, the NGT again expressed its concern at increasing air pollution in the city of Delhi, leading to deteriorating ambient air quality and adverse health consequences. Referring to the principle of inter-generational equity, the NGT identified three major causes of air pollution, being burning of plastic and other waste, pollution from construction and allied activities, and pollution from vehicular traffic and industrial emission. With regard to vehicular pollution, the NGT directs as follows:
"...We have already noticed that certain stringent measures need to be taken to improve the ambient air quality in NCR, Delhi and to ensure that the residents of this area do not travel closer to ill-health by each breath that they take. Thus we hereby direct that all diesel vehicles (heavy or light) which are more than 10 years old, will not be permitted on the roads of NCR, Delhi. All the registering authorities in the state of Haryana, U.P. and NCT, Delhi would not register any diesel vehicle which is more than 10 years old and shall file the list of vehicles before the Tribunal and provide the same to the Police and other concerned authorities. Petrol vehicles wh
