'Health Over Commercial Interests': Top Court Bans BS III Vehicles' Sale

The Supreme Court has ruled that no registration or sale will be allowed on any BS III compatible vehicle from April 1 2017. Saying that public health concerns overrule all other considerations, the apex court has stated, 'Even though the numbers of unsold stock of BS III (vehicles) is small, keeping in view of public health concerns commercial interests are not important.' The automobile industry finds itself on the backfoot with this ruling, as most of them had petitioned the court to grant an extension on the deadline to allow sales of the BS III vehicles held in inventory at stock yards and at the dealer end. The ban on the sales affects the inventory held by the industry - numbers which the court had asked for on March 20 2017 - which stand at a total stock of 8,24,275 BS III vehicles. This comprises 96,724 Commercial Vehicles, 6,71,308 Two Wheelers, 40,048 Three Wheelers and 16,198 Passenger Cars. Some players had objected to the deadline, saying they had interpreted the government notification to mean that manufacture of said vehicles was to stop by April 1, and not the sale. SIAM or Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers had asked the government's intervention, and in fact just yesterday the government too had requested the court to show leniency in the matter.