NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday exempted the advocates and judicial staff residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) from the ban on plying vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet BS-VI emission standards.
Justice Amit Mahajan, hearing a petition filed by the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA), said that the relief would be granted only on courts’ working days.
The judge passed the order after noting the submission by Senior Advocate N Hariharan on behalf of the DHCBA that lawyers and judicial staff perform “essential functions”.
Hariharan, also the president of DHCBA, said that the government’s notification already has provisions to exempt certain categories of vehicles, adding that such exemptions were granted to the lawyers even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“They (the authorities concerned) have the power to exempt. As far as lawyers and court staff are concerned, we are performing judicial functions and assisting My Lords. If we can’t come here, it will affect the entire justice delivery function,” Hariharan said.
The DHCBA claimed that a substantial number of lawyers practising in Delhi reside in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, and Ghaziabad, and regularly commute to the Capital to attend court proceedings, meet clients, and senior counsel, and access their chambers.
It claimed that the restriction could affect advocates' ability to attend court hearings at fixed times, potentially prejudicing litigants whose cases they represent.
The DHCBA had also proposed a regulated exemption allowing each eligible advocate to use one nominated vehicle, subject to verification of professional identity, vehicle documents and a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC).
It pointed out that the notification itself empowered the Delhi government's Environment Department to grant exemptions to additional categories of vehicles.
It further referred to a 2021 Delhi High Court order during the COVID-19 pandemic, when advocates were permitted to travel for court-related work on production of identity proof.
