Kerala High Court stays NGT order banning diesel vehicles that are over 10 years old

The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed a landmark judgement by the National Green Tribunal Circuit bench that had banned light and heavy diesel vehicles that are over 10 years old from plying in six major cities in Kerala, including state capital Thiruvananthapuram and commercial capital Kochi.

The order also directed the state government not to provide registration to any diesel vehicle with a capacity of 2000 cc or more. However, public transport and local authority vehicles were exempted from this rule.

The court on May 27 had stayed the order for two months, but with the ruling that came out on Friday, the court has put an indefinite stay on the NGT order.

The ruling came when a bench headed by justice PB Suresh Kumar was hearing an appeal filed by the KSRTC, which is the state-run public transport corporation.

The NGT order of May 23 came as a shocker for all major stakeholders in the transportation sector in Kerala.

The order could have potentially put the entire public transport system under distress. 

Read our detailed story about the consequences of NGT order here.