Only Bharat Stage VI Vehicles To Be Sold From April 2020, Says Supreme Court, Also Bans BS IV Variants

The Supreme Court ruled that only Bharat Stage VI compliant vehicles will be sold in the country starting from April 2020, Business Standard has reported. It has also banned sale of BS IV vehicles from April 2020. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Madan B Lokur pronounced the judgement, reiterating government’s efforts to reduce pollution.

The judgement related to the petition that asked for a grace period for the automobile manufacturers to comply with BS VI standards. However, the bench noted that cleaner fuel was the need of the hour and refused to extend the deadline.

According to the WHO’s (World Health Organization) Global Air Pollution Database that was released in May this year, 14 of the 15 world's most polluted cities were in India.

BS-IV standards are currently in force in the entire country and in 2016, the Indian government had announced that the country would skip the BS V norms altogether and adopt BS VI norms by 2020.

Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES) are emission standards instituted by the Indian government that regulate pollutants emanating from internal combustion engines found in petrol and diesel vehicles. BSES are largely based on European standards.

To combat the rising pollution levels in Delhi, the government allowed for the sale of BS VI fuel, with effect from 1 April 2018. The reason to shift to BS VI fuel is well justified since it has five times less Sulphur than BS IV. Sulphur is a significant cause of air pollution in cities.