The Punjab and Haryana High Court has received an application from the Federation of Chandigarh Region Automobile Dealers, seeking the nullification of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy of 2022 and its subsequent amendments dated July 7 and October 18, which imposed a cap on the registration of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and non-EVs.
The division bench, which consists of Justices G. S. Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan, has requested time to gather guidance on the matter after hearing the plea. Arguments on the topic are scheduled for November 9.
Argument against EV policy
The petitioner body argued that the policy is based on guidelines published by the Indian government, which, upon a cursory examination, indicate that the guidelines’ primary goal was to promote electric vehicles by offering incentives to consumers who would otherwise be unlikely to purchase them.
In addition, financial incentives and infrastructure for charging are provided. Based on these rules, the EV Policy was developed, which has an impact on the basic rights of dealers operating in the Chandigarh region.
It has also been argued that, according to reports from the Chandigarh administration, over 50% of the vehicles that enter the state come from outside, primarily from neighboring states, and that there isn’t a ban or cap of this kind in any of the nearby areas of Mohali and Panchkula. This kind of strategy will not in any way help the administration reach its goal of encouraging the use of electric vehicles.
Senior advocate Chetan Mittal, who represents the petitioner body, argued that in any other case, no executive order or policy of that kind could restrict the fundamental rights of the petitioner/dealers because their entire company is currently in the process of moving out of Chandigarh and they have made significant financial investments that will have a direct impact on their operations. It was also mentioned that a lot of non-electric vehicle reservations have been made, and their deliveries are still scheduled for the duration of the festival.
Additionally, the Chandigarh administration’s adopted policy, procedure, and basis are completely arbitrary and the result of a complete lack of mental effort. Instead, the administration will lose tax revenue and other forms of compensation because buyers will move to neighboring states as a result of non-EV registration, which is against the policy’s intended outcome.
The senior counsel claimed that the presidential orders cannot limit the sale and registration of automobiles and that the policy lacks jurisdiction unless and until the Act and Rules of Motor Automobiles are modified.
