Delhi High Court eases vehicle curbs for lawyers, court staff till Jan 2027

The Delhi HC permitted lawyers and court staff to use pre-BS-VI vehicles to travel to and from Delhi on court working days from November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027, provided they carry a valid identity card and their vehicles have a valid parking sticker issued by any Bar Association in Delhi.New Delhi,Nov 10, 2026 13:54 ISTThe Delhi High Court has said the presence of advocates and judicial staff is essential for the smooth functioning of courts and exempted them from a three-month restriction on non-Delhi-registered vehicles that do not meet BS-VI emission standards, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Justice Amit Mahajan permitted lawyers and court staff to use such vehicles to travel to and from Delhi on court working days from November 1, 2026, to January 31, 2027, provided they carry a valid identity card and their vehicles have a valid parking sticker issued by any Bar Association in Delhi.The order was passed on November 6 on a petition filed by the Delhi High Court Bar Association, which sought an exemption for vehicles lawfully used by advocates living in the National Capital Region and travelling to Delhi for professional duties.According to PTI, the court said, "Considering the difficulty expressed by the petitioner, the cars of advocates and court staff, which are holding a valid parking sticker of any of the Bar Associations in Delhi, are permitted to travel to and from Delhi, during court working days, from 01.11.2026 to 31.01.2027 on producing a valid identity card." Justice Mahajan observed that the authorities had, at this stage, not explained how vehicles that were not considered contributors to pollution until October had suddenly come to be viewed as major contributors.The judge said the government's notification itself exempted those performing sovereign and essential duties. Assisting courts in carrying out judicial work was, at first sight, an essential duty and could sometimes be urgent, he added. The authorities had also not claimed that they were providing adequate transport for advocates and court staff to reach courts. The court asked the Centre and the Delhi government to file their replies and listed the petition for hearing in January.Citing pollution concerns, the Delhi government had on June 23 decided to prohibit the entry of all vehicles registered outside Delhi that do not meet BS-VI emission standards from November 1 to January 31.During the November 6 hearing, Delhi High Court Bar Association president and senior advocate N Hariharan said many advocates travelled to courts in Delhi from Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad to perform judicial functions. He argued that their non-Delhi-registered, pre-BS-VI vehicles should therefore be exempted from the restriction.The association said in its petition that clean air was essential and the State had the power to regulate vehicle emissions, but advocates should be exempted in the interest of the administration of justice.It said, "Advocates timely attendance, when required by a court, serves the interests of litigants and the administration of justice. In Anita Kushwaha v. Pushap Sudan... the Supreme Court recognised access to justice as a facet of Articles 14 and 21."The petition added, "That principle makes the demonstrated effect on access to courts a relevant consideration. It does not confer a general privilege to pollute but it requires the authority to consider whether regulated access can reasonably reconcile the competing interests."The exemption will, therefore, allow advocates and court staff with valid identification and Bar Association parking stickers to use eligible non-Delhi-registered, pre-BS-VI vehicles on court working days during the three-month restriction, while the court awaits responses from the Centre and the Delhi government.- Ends