NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed all automobile majors to submit the details of unsold Bharat Stage (BS)-III vehicles.
A Bench comprising judges Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta passed the order after the apex court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority sought implementation of its earlier notification for stopping sale of vehicles, which were not BS-IV-compliant after March 31.
The apex court allowed Bajaj Auto and Honda Motors as parties to the case and directed the automobile companies to give figures of manufacturing and sale of vehicles on a monthly basis from January 2016.
Senior lawyer Harish Salve, who is an amicus curiae in the case, favoured the deadline fixed by the government and said the notification was clear about the proposed ban on sale of BS-III vehicles.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers opposed the submission and said that the notification allows them to manufacture vehicles till March 31.
The counsel for Bajaj informed the court that the company was in favour of the April 1 deadline for enforcement of BS-IV norms and sought directions to ensure that all manufacturers follow the timeline.
Last year, the Environment Pollution Control Authority had said it would not allow sale or registration of any pre-BS-IV vehicles from April 1.
The government had in August 2015 said the sale of four- wheelers not meeting Bharat Stage BS-IV emission norms will be barred in India from April, 2017 with a view to bringing the entire country under the ambit of tighter pollution control regime.