On Thursday, August 13, the Supreme Court allowed the registration of BS-IV compliant vehicles that were sold before the nationwide lockdown commenced in March. It also specified that its details should have been uploaded on the government’s Vahan portal.
Earlier on, the apex court had barred registration of BS-IV compliant vehicles till further orders. It also expressed its displeasure over the large sale of vehicles that happened during the lockdown period.
The apex court bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, held that the vehicles, which were sold during the COVID-19 lockdown after 25 March shall not be allowed to register. Additionally, the details of the vehicles which were not uploaded on the vahan portal would not be allowed to be registered.
According to the data submitted by by the government through the ministry of road, transport, and highways (MoRTH), as many as 1.1 million BS-IV compliant vehicles were sold between 12 March and 31 March. The data also shows that more than 250,000 such vehicles were sold from 29 March to 31 March, when stringent lockdown measures were imposed across the country.
In 2017, the apex court had decided to stop sales and registration of BS-IV vehicles from 1 April 2020, to control rising pollution levels in Indian cities.
