Then the Court narrowed the rule by restricting action only against those vehicles below the Bharat Stage-IV standard. In these matters, the Court’s justification has often shifted from being rooted in legality to that in consequences. In May 2025, in Vanashakti vs Union of India, the Court said ex post facto environmental clearances run against core environmental principles. Perhaps where the Court conducting itself as an approving authority has bitten the hardest is the consequences for public challenge. As a result, when the Court modifies an older rule, it also reshapes who is heard and on what evidentiary basis.

Source: The Hindu January 09, 2026 11:15 UTC