Overview

• A bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran will hear the Delhi government’s review petition alongside separate pleas from BMW and Audi owners.
• Delhi contends that the current 10- and 15-year age thresholds lack scientific backing and unfairly penalize middle-class owners of well-maintained, low-use vehicles.
• The government’s application urges the court to direct the Centre or the Commission for Air Quality Management to carry out a comprehensive, data-driven study and replace age cutoffs with individual vehicle emissions and roadworthiness tests.
• Petitioners highlight post-2018 advances—mandatory Bharat Stage VI standards, expanded PUC testing and cleaner fuel adoption—as evidence that the original pollution rationale has evolved.
• The Supreme Court’s decision could pivot NCR policy from rigid age limits to a graded, emissions-based regulatory framework.