BS-IV Compliant CNG Vehicles Purchased Before Cut-off Date Eligible for Re-registration and Transfer of Registration in Delhi

The Petitioner purchased five Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) compliant CNG buses on May 31, 2016, which were registered in Delhi between August 12 and 22, 2016, with registrations valid until 2031.

Subsequently, the Petitioner obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and transferred the registrations to Panipat, Haryana, to facilitate business operations for schools and staff.

Due to business losses in October 2020, the Petitioner sought to re-register the vehicles back in Delhi on January 1, 2021.

The Transport Department, GNCTD, rejected the request via communications dated January 29, 2021, and January 19, 2022, citing a Supreme Court order dated June 15, 2020, in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, which purportedly prohibited the registration of BS-IV vehicles in Delhi after April 1, 2020.

1. Whether the prohibition on the registration of BS-IV vehicles after April 1, 2020, applies to the transfer and re-registration of existing CNG vehicles originally registered before the deadline.

2. Whether the Petitioner is entitled to a direction compelling the Respondent to grant fresh registration for the five BS-IV compliant CNG buses in Delhi.

The court relied on the Supreme Court’s evolving directions in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (W.P. (C) 13029/1985).

The order dated October 24, 2018, established that no BS-IV vehicle shall be sold or registered nationwide after April 1, 2020.

Subsequent orders dated September 18, 2020, April 9, 2021, and November 30, 2021, clarified that original CNG vehicles and those purchased prior to the deadline were exempt from certain restrictive interpretations regarding registration.

The ban serves to ensure transition to new emission norms for new sales and does not bar the transfer of registration for existing compliant CNG vehicles.

The court reasoned that the Respondent’s reliance on the June 15, 2020, order was misplaced, as that order specifically concerned the sale and registration of new vehicles after the BS-VI transition deadline.

The court observed that the Petitioner’s vehicles were not new acquisitions but were BS-IV compliant CNG buses already registered in Delhi in 2016.

By examining subsequent Supreme Court orders (I.A. 46641/2021 and I.A. 134225/2021), the court noted that the apex court had allowed the registration of similar CNG BS-IV vehicles purchased as far back as 2012 and 2017.

The court concluded that there is no legal bar against the transfer or re-registration of previously registered, operational BS-IV CNG vehicles from one RTO to another, as they do not constitute "new sales" intended to be restricted by the 2020 deadline.

The High Court allowed the writ petition and set aside the impugned communications dated January 29, 2021, and January 19, 2022. The Respondent/Transport Department, GNCTD, was directed to grant registration to the Petitioner’s five BS-IV compliant CNG vehicles. The petition was disposed of accordingly.