10-year-old Volvo passes emission test but denied PUC certificate; owner moves Supreme Court; here's why it matters

A Volvo XC-60 owner has approached the Supreme Court after Delhi authorities refused to issue a pollution under control certificate for his 10-year-old diesel vehicle, even though the car cleared the emission test, leaving it unable to be refuelled and effectively immobile.

The matter came up before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, which agreed to list the plea for hearing.

What happened to the Volvo XC-60 owner?


Senior advocate Rakesh Khanna, appearing for the applicant, told the court that his client's car was put through the emission test at a pollution under control check centre and passed. Despite that, the centre refused to issue a PUC certificate.

The reason, Khanna told the bench, was not the car's emission levels. He said his client was told that the software systems at PUCC centres and the operating instructions do not permit issuance of a PUC certificate to a vehicle that crosses the given age threshold, even if the vehicle passes the emission test.

Without a valid PUC certificate, the owner cannot purchase fuel. The car, despite being operational and emission-compliant, has been rendered immobile.

Does the Supreme Court's December 2024 order protect these vehicles?

Khanna argued that the situation directly contradicts a Supreme Court order from December 2024. On 17 December, the court had modified an earlier order and directed that no coercive action be taken against end-of-life vehicles in Delhi-NCR, provided they are BS-IV or BS-VI emission norm compliant. The Volvo XC-60 falls within that category.

He further told the court that high-end vehicles such as the Volvo XC-60 are built for a long operational life, and that forcing owners to scrap them imposes a significant financial burden.

The Supreme Court had first issued a stay on coercive action against 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles on 12 August, before refining the order in December to limit the protection to BS-IV and BS-VI compliant vehicles.

Why is Delhi's end-of-life vehicle ban controversial?

The ban on older vehicles in Delhi-NCR traces back to a Supreme Court order from 10 October 2018, issued in the interest of improving air quality in one of the world's most polluted urban regions.

Delhi government itself, on 25 July last year, had requested the Supreme Court to direct the Union government or the Commission for Air Quality Management to carry out a broad-based scientific study on whether a complete ban on older vehicles across all categories was still warranted.

The numbers involved are significant. The December 2024 order effectively meant the scrapping of over 14.71 lakh BS-I compliant vehicles, over 38.75 lakh BS-II compliant vehicles, and another 53.71 lakh BS-III vehicles across Delhi-NCR. By contrast, there are approximately 57.36 lakh BS-IV compliant and 72.89 lakh BS-VI compliant vehicles in the region, all of which are currently protected from coercive action under the December order.

Why it matters?

The Volvo case puts a specific and previously under-reported problem on record. The complaint before the Supreme Court is not that the car failed the emission test. It is that the software running at PUC centres is programmed to deny certificates based on a vehicle's age alone, with no provision to override that block even when the vehicle demonstrably meets emission standards.

If the court rules on this, it could have implications for every BS-IV or BS-VI compliant vehicle in Delhi-NCR that is at or approaching the age threshold, regardless of its actual pollution output.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea. A date for hearing is yet to be fixed.

(With TOI inputs)