Fit cert enough, govt removes 15-yr age cap on comm vehicles
Times of India | 16 November 2025
Kolkata: In a key relief for private bus operators in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA), the Calcutta High Court on Thursday disposed of a long-pending writ petition after the state govt presented a draft notification allowing stage carriage buses older than 15 years to continue plying — but strictly on the basis of enhanced fitness and pollution norms.
The order, passed by Justice Rai Chattopadhyay, came during the hearing of a petition filed by the City Suburban Bus Service and others. The petitioners argued that thousands of private buses in Kolkata risked being taken off the roads due to age limits, which would cripple public transport in the city.
The Calcutta High Court had passed a landmark order in July 2008 banning all commercial vehicles older than 15 years from plying within the KMA.
The ban was based on severe air pollution caused by ageing, poorly maintained vehicles, especially pre-1990 buses, autos, and goods carriers.
Only KMA-registered stage carriage buses will be permitted to run beyond 15 years of their initial registration. Bi-annual fitness and pollution checks will become mandatory once a bus crosses the 15-year threshold. Fitness certificates will be issued strictly under Section 56 of the MV Act, 1988, only if emission levels remain within the limits prescribed by MoRTH.
The draft notification also states that these rules will uniformly apply to both petrol and diesel buses. Applications for fitness certification must be submitted either to the additional director (Kolkata Zone) or district magistrate-cum-chairman of the Regional Transport Authority, depending on jurisdiction. The Certificates of Fitness and Pollution Under Control Certificates will be granted solely upon complete compliance with the MV Act, the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, and the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules.
"Since emission and fitness, not the age of the bus, is of paramount significance, our argument was based on compliance with the emission standard and fitness standard. This order is historic and would save many bus operators from the brink of bankruptcy. The majority of the bus operators lost their financial ability to purchase new buses," said Titu Saha of Suburban Bus Services, a key applicant in the case.