HC stays NGT ban on diesel vehicles. Providing a respite to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, (KSRTC), private bus operators and owners of diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above, the Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the directive of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Kochi Special Circuit Bench, to the government to ban diesel vehicles older than 10 years in six cities in the State. Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar had earlier stayed the tribunal‘s directive restraining the State government from registering new diesel vehicles of 2000 cc and above except that of the public or local authorities. The judge issued the interim order staying the NGT‘s directive to ban 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur cities on writ petitions filed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Kerala State Private Bus Operators‘ Federation. The court pointed out that counsel for the KSRTC and the private bus operators contended that the Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta vs. Union of India and others case had prohibited use of diesel vehicles of more than 15 years in Delhi after granting the bus operators reasonable time to replace their vehicles. The court observed that a perusal of the apex court judgment would indicate that the decision was rendered having regard to the air pollution level in the national capital region of Delhi. The court also referred to the arguments of the counsel that the air quality level in the State was far superior to that in Delhi. That apart, no data was available with the tribunal regarding the air quality level prevailing in the six cites. ―In the circumstances, the petitioners had made out a strong prima facie case‖ for staying the NGT order.