New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday extended the registration period of three specialized armoured diesel vehicles belonging to the Special Protection Group (SPG) by five years. The decision was made after the SPG filed an appeal challenging an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had refused to grant an extension for the vehicles due to their age, as they had exceeded a decade of use. The bench, led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan, granted the extension after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta emphasized the importance of these vehicles for the SPG’s operations. He argued that these armoured vehicles are an essential and integral part of the SPG’s technical logistics, specifically designed for the security of the Prime Minister.
The NGT had, on March 22, refused the SPG’s plea, stating that diesel vehicles over 10 years old could not be permitted to operate in the National Capital Region (NCR), in line with an earlier Supreme Court directive from October 2018. This ruling was based on the NGT’s 2015 order, which prohibits the use of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in the NCR.
However, recognizing the specialized nature of the vehicles and their limited usage over the past decade, the Supreme Court provided relief to the SPG. The vehicles in question are crucial for the security of the Prime Minister, and their operational need outweighs the general restrictions on older diesel vehicles.
The SPG, established in 1985, provides proximate security cover to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers, and their immediate family members, making the vehicles essential for its duties.
