In a relief to automobile dealers, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed the sale of BS-IV compliant vehicles for 10 days, except in Delhi-NCR, after the ongoing countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic is lifted.

The apex court, which had earlier fixed the deadline of March 31, 2020, for the sale of BS-IV vehicles across the country, passed the order on a plea by the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (Fada), seeking extension of time for the sale of inventory amid the coronavirus scare and economic slowdown.

However, the bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta, which heard the matter on Friday through video-conferencing, made it clear that no BS-IV vehicles will be allowed to be sold in Delhi-NCR from April 1, 2020.

It said that only 10 per cent of the unsold inventory of BS-IV vehicles can be permitted to be sold during this 10-day period after the lockdown, which has been enforced since March 24.

In October 2018, the apex court had imposed a ban on all sales of BS-IV vehicles from April 1, 2020, to facilitate a complete switchover to BS-VI compliant vehicles, which is globally used and considered environment friendly.

Senior advocate K. V. Vishwanathan, appearing for Fada, said around 15,000 passenger cars and 12,000 commercial vehicles are yet to be sold and sought time till May 31 to sell these BS-IV vehicles.

The top court, however, said it cannot keep extending the deadline and dealers should be ready to sacrifice to protect the environment.

“There is no point extending the time for BS-IV vehicles, burdening the environment further… Let’s learn to sacrifice, do something for the country’s environment, have sympathy for people…we understand the psychology of businesses and dealers,” Justice Mishra, heading the bench, observed.

The court had earlier turned down the plea of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) to extend the time lime till September 20, 2020, as the top court expressed serious concern over the deteriorating pollution levels in the entire country, accentuated by automobile emissions.