Delhi High Court: In a petition challenging the notification dated 23 June 2026, restricting Advocates and Court staff residing in the NCR, outside the NCT of Delhi, from commuting to Courts in vehicles not registered in Delhi between 1 November 2026 and 31 January 2027, a Single Judge Bench of Amit Mahajan, J., granted interim relief, permitting Advocates and Court staff possessing valid parking stickers issued by any Bar Association in Delhi to travel to and from Delhi on Court working days upon production of valid identity cards. The Court prima facie observed that assisting the Court in the discharge of judicial functions constitutes an essential duty and that the presence of Advocates and Court staff is indispensable for the smooth functioning of Courts.
Background
The petition was filed to raise a grievance against the notification dated 23 June 2026, under which Advocates and Court staff residing in the NCR, but outside the NCT of Delhi, and whose vehicles were not registered in Delhi, were not permitted to use their vehicles for commuting to Courts between 1 November 2026 and 31 January 2027. It was contended that despite several representations having been made to the Government of NCT of Delhi seeking exemption for lawyers and court staff, no action had been taken.
The petitioner, submitted that Advocates perform duties integral to the administration of justice and, therefore, their vehicles ought to be exempted from the restrictions imposed by the notification. It was argued that once Courts continue to function during the notified period, lawyers registered with the Delhi Bar Council and practicing before Delhi Courts cannot be prevented from using their vehicles to discharge their professional obligations. The petitioner further emphasized that repeated representations seeking such exemption had remained unaddressed.
Analysis
The Court prima facie observed that the respondents themselves had granted exemptions in the notification to persons discharging sovereign and essential duties. The Court was of the opinion that assisting the Court in the discharge of judicial functions is also an essential duty and, at times, may be emergent in nature. The Court noted that the presence of Advocates and Court staff is indispensable for the smooth functioning of Courts and that the respondents had neither provided adequate transport arrangements for them nor justified how vehicles that were not considered contributors to pollution until October could suddenly be treated as major contributors thereafter.
Decision
Issuing notice to the respondents, the Court granted interim relief to Advocates and Court staff. It directed that vehicles belonging to Advocates and Court staff possessing a valid parking sticker issued by any Bar Association in Delhi would be permitted to travel to and from Delhi on Court working days during the period from1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, upon production of a valid identity card. The matter was directed to be listed on 29 January 2027.
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[Delhi High Court Bar Association v. Union of India, W.P.(C) 16793 of 2026, decided on 6-11-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioners: N. Hariharan, Rakesh Tiku, Prem Lata Bansal, Sr. Advs., Vikram Singh Panwar, Kanika Singh, Kunal Malhotra, B.S. Dhir, Kajal Chandra, Vidhi Gupta, Amit Choudhary, Chandrika Gupta, Shrey Sharawat, Nitesh Mehra, Lakshy Kaushik, Amaan Shreyas, Mannat Tipnis, Punya Rekha Angara, Aman Akhtar, Amartya Khanjilal, Arjan Singh Mandla, Vasundhara Raj Tyagi, Apoorv Kumar, Monu, Jai Girdhar, Shreyangana Bag, Jai Girdhar, Advocates
For the Respondent: Pratima N. Lakra, CGSC with Sarvesh P. Shrivastava, GP, Santha Smruthi & Shailendra Kumar Mishra, Sanjay Vashishta, SC with Siddhartha Goswami Advocates for MCD
