--- title: Cars Older Than 15 Years Can No Longer Drive on New Delhi's Roads description: The Indian capital is one of the world's most polluted cities canonical: https://time.com/3829273/cars-older-than-15-years-can-no-longer-drive-in-the-indian-capital/ author: Rishi Iyengar article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T07:34:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:32:23.240Z article:section: World og:title: New Delhi Bans Cars Older Than 15 Years og:description: The Indian capital is one of the world's most polluted cities. og:url: https://time.com/3829273/cars-older-than-15-years-can-no-longer-drive-in-the-indian-capital/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86672324b2f0a89d/6987ebfc8e060130a345e398/464583053.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 464583053 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Delhi Bans Cars Older Than 15 Years twitter:description: The Indian capital is one of the world's most polluted cities. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86672324b2f0a89d/6987ebfc8e060130a345e398/464583053.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cars Older Than 15 Years Can No Longer Drive in the Indian Capital by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Apr 21, 2015 7:34 AM CUT  Traffic make way in haze mainly caused by air pollution in Delhi, India on January 20, 2014. Traffic make way in haze mainly caused by air pollution in Delhi, India on January 20, 2014.Kuni Takahashi— Bloomberg Finance LP by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Apr 21, 2015 7:34 AM CUT More than a few car owners in New Delhi will likely have to get rid of their vehicles, after the country’s apex court [upheld a ban](http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/sc-refused-to-dismiss-ngts-order-to-ban-vehicles-older-than-15-years-in-delhi/99/ "undefined") on automobiles older than 15 years on the sprawling capital’s streets. India’s Supreme Court on Monday confirmed the measure put forth by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last November, the _Indian Express_ reports. “One tribunal is trying to do something which is good for people,” a bench led by Chief Justic H.L Dattu said. “Let us assist them and not discourage them. We are not interfering with their order.” The NGT recently attempted to ban diesel vehicles older than 10 years as well, but adjourned its decision by two weeks following protests from affected transport companies. India’s minister for road, transport and highways [said last week](http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/government-exploring-dedicated-scrapyard-for-older-vehicles-nitin-gadkari/articleshow/46994116.cms "undefined") that the government was exploring various options for highly polluting vehicles, and on Tuesday sought an extension of six months on the phasing out of older cars. New Delhi has been deemed one of [the world’s most polluted cities](http://time.com/3608534/india-new-delhi-worlds-most-polluted-city/ "undefined"); several studies deem its air highly toxic and unfit to breathe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3829273/cars-older-than-15-years-can-no-longer-drive-in-the-indian-capital/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3829273/cars-older-than-15-years-can-no-longer-drive-in-the-indian-capital/"},"headline":"Cars Older Than 15 Years Can No Longer Drive in the Indian Capital","datePublished":"2015-04-21T07:34:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:32:23.240Z","description":"The city of 17 million is one of the world's most polluted","url":"https://time.com/3829273/cars-older-than-15-years-can-no-longer-drive-in-the-indian-capital/","keywords":["India","New Delhi","Pollution","cars","Ban","Diesel"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86672324b2f0a89d/6987ebfc8e060130a345e398/464583053.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86672324b2f0a89d/6987ebfc8e060130a345e398/464583053.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"464583053","caption":"Traffic make way in haze mainly caused by air pollution in Delhi, India on January 20, 2014. 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