The Supreme Court has stayed an order by National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposing a fine of Rs 500 crore on German automobile behemoth Volkswagen, Livemint reported.

Volkswagen was slapped with the hefty fine by the apex green tribunal on March 7 for allegedly damaging the environment through use of "cheat device" in its diesel cars in India. A bench headed by NGT Chairman Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had directed the car maker to deposit the amount within two months.

Volkswagen challenged the NGT order before the Supreme Court. Volkswagen has repeatedly refuted the allegations of violating BS-IV norms levelled against it. The company argued that the emission test results in question were based on "on road testing" of its cars and there were no prescribed standards for this.

“Cheat device” is a piece of software that activates the engine’s emissions controls only during laboratory testing. Volkswagen was caught in major scandal in 2015 in the US when when it emerged that diesel vehicles manufactured by the company emitted nitrogen oxide 40 times the permissible limits.

A Supreme Court headed by Justice S.A. Bopde said that ‘no coercive action’ should be taken against Volkswagen with respect to the fine.

The court also sought replies from the Central Pollution Control Board and Saloni Ailawadi, a teacher at a Delhi school who, along with a few others, had moved the green tribunal seeking a ban on the sale of Volkswagen vehicles in India for alleged violation of emission norms.