CJI seeks Nitin Gadkari's help on air pollution, but drops idea

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Wednesday toyed briefly with the idea of asking Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to come to court to assist the court with ways and means to check vehicular air pollution but dropped the idea after the government opposed it saying that any such order would be “politically misconstrued”.

The CJI clarified that he was not “summoning” the minister but only wanted his assistance in dealing with a petition filed by activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) seeking an immediate switch to electric vehicles as part of the government efforts to improve ambient air quality in Delhi-NCR.