Last week, a special bench of the National Green tribunal (NGT) had banned the registration of new diesel powered vehicles with a displacement of 2000cc or more in the state of Kerala. The knee-jerk reaction created discontent among manufacturers such as Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and the likes as it hit their business further since the time such a ban was already in place in national capital.
Now, the Kerala High Court has announced a stay of two months on the order of the special bench. The court, however, limited the judgment to this order and did not hamper the ban on diesel vehicles that were older than 10 years in a number of cities located in the state.
Justice P B Suresh Kumar announced the judgment while hearing a petition that was filed by Nippon Toyota which said that there were illegalities in the NGT order. Nippon Toyota had further added that the order was passed without hearing the view of the diesel manufacturers.
The earlier ban was issued by the special bench of the NGT while hearing a petition that was filed by the lawyer’s Environmental Awareness Forum (LEAF). It was said that the city of Kochi was one of the most polluted cities in the state. The news surfaces even as manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are re-considering their investment plans in the country due to the uncertainty on the issue.
With inputs from PTI