NE LEGAL BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, JAN 22
The Gujarat High Court recently dismissed a plea filed by Ahmedabad Automobile Association against the Regional Transport Office (RTO) here for not permitting the transfer of vehicles manufactured on or before April 1, 2010, in Ahmedabad and Surat on the ground that they do not comply with Bharat Stage-IV norms. The Centre had issued instructions for implementation of Bharat Stage IV norms for four-wheelers in the National Capital Region and cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Kanpur, Pune, Surat and Agra with effect from April 1, 2010.
Bharat Stage III compliant vehicles manufactured up to March 31, 2010, would be eligible for registration in these cities for some time after April 1, 2010, till the accumulated stock is exhausted, it had said.
The state authority issued a circular dated June 19, 2010, for implementation of the Centre’s instruction.
Rejecting the AAA’s appeal, the division bench of Justices RM Chhaya and BN Karia, in its order, stated that such re-registration in the garb of transfer, if permitted, would make it impossible to maintain emission standards and norms prescribed for cities like Ahmedabad and Surat. The order the insistence on part of authorities for meeting emission norms as provided under the MV Act is “proper and legal”.
