LexM. C.MEHTA versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
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[2017] 6 S.C.R. 707 M. C.MEHTA v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. (I.A.No. 487, 491, 494, 489 and 495 of 2017) in (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13029 of 1985) MARCH29,2017 A B [MADAN B. LOKUR AND DEEPAK GUPTA, JJ.] Environment- Pollution -Air Pollution - Commercial vehicles C not complying with Bharat Stage-IV emission standards causing health hazards and adding to the already alarming air pollution levels - Ban on sale and registration of existing stock of such vehicles on and from 1st April, 2017 - Plea of manuracturers that they are entitled to manufacture such vehicles till 31s March, 2017 and thus D may be given reasonable time to dispose of such existing stock - Held: The manufacturers of such vehicles were fully aware that eventually from 1st April, 2017 they would be required to manufacture only Bharat Stage-IV compliant vehicles but they chose to sit back and declined to take sufficient pro-active steps - Introduction of such vehicles on the road is a potential health hazard E affecting millions of people in the country - Health of people is far more important than commercial interests of the manufacturers or the loss that they are likely to suffer - On balance, directions issued inter alia prohibiting sale and registration of commercial vehicles non-compliant with Bharat Stage-IV on and from 1st April 2017 - F Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - Supreme Court - Directions. MC. Mehta v. Union of India (2016) 4 SCC 269 - referred to. (2016) 4 sec 269 Case Law Reference referred to Para6 CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: I. A.No. 487/2017, I. A. No. 491/2017, I.A. No. 494/2017, I.A. No. 489/2017, I.A. No. 495/2017 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 13029/1985 707 G H 708 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2017] 6 S.C.R. A Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. Ranjit Kumar, sG; Harish N. Salve, Sr. Adv.(AC), Siddhartha Chowdhury, A. D. N. Rao, Ms. Aparajita Singh, (ACs), S. Wasim A. Qadri, ZaidAli, G.S. Makkar, Kaushik Poddar, Gautam Singh, Ms. Snehil Soniun Singh, Ms. Isha Singh, Tarun Gulati, Neil Hildreth, Rahul Jain, B Kishore Kuna!, Ankur Talwar, Anupam Mishra, Ms. Aswathi Balraj, Ms. Hitakshi Mittal, Abeer Kumar, Ms. Nandini Gidwaney, Sachin Pujari, R.V. Prabhat, Hrishikesh Chitaley, Ashish Verma, Chandra Prakash, Sandeep Naryan, Mrs. Nandini Gore, Ms. Tahira Karanjawala, Ms: Natasha Sehrawat, Ms. Khushboo Bari, Mrs. Manik Karanjawala, Sidharth Sharma, Sandeep Narain,Avishkar Singhvi (for Mis. S. Narain C & Co.), Vijay Panjwani, Sandeep Narain (for Mis. S. Narain & Co.) Vi jay K. Sondhi, Sujeeta Srivastava, Cauveri Birbal, Arnav Sanyal, Advs. for the appearing parties. Petitioner-in-person. D The following Order of the Court was delivered ORDER 1. We have heard the learned Solicitor General, learned Amicus Curiae, learned counsel for the interveners who are manufacturers of vehicles (two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers and commercial E vehicles - for short referred to as 'such vehicles') and learned counsel for the association of dealers of such vehicles. 2. The seminal issue in these applications is whether the sale and registration and therefore the commercial interests of manufacturers and dealers of such vehicles that do not meet the Bharat Stage-IV (for F short 'BS-IV') emission standards as on 1st April, 2017 takes primacy over the health hazard due to increased air pollution of millions of our country men and women. The answer is quite obvious. 3. The controversy relates to the sale and registration (on and after 1" April, 2017) of such vehicles lying in stock with the G manufacturers and dealers that meet the Bharat Stage III emission standards (for short BS-III standards) but dci not meet the BS-IV emission standards. 4. Briefly, according to the manufacturers, they are entitled to manufacture such vehicles till 31" March, 2017 and they have done so. H In so doing, they say that they have not violated any prohibition or any M. C. MEHTA v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. 709 law. Hence, the sale and registration of such vehicles on and from 1st A April, 2017 ought not to be prohibited. They say that they will not be manufacturing any vehicle 'that does not comply with the BS-N emission standards from and after l st April, 2017 and therefore the only issue is the sale and registration of the existing stock of such vehicles that comply with BS-III emission standards. They say that they may be given B reasonable time to dispose of the exi
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