The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by automaker giant Skoda Volkswagen India challenging the Allahabad high court order rejecting its plea seeking to quash an FIR filed against it in Uttar Pradesh.
A UP-based customer, who had seven Audi cars worth several crores, had filed an FIR against the parent company Skoda Volkswagen. This was following a March 2019 National Green Tribunal order which had found that the manufacturers had installed cheat devices in its diesel cars to manipulate emission norms.
In the previous hearing on November 4, the bench led by Chief Justice S A Bobde had said, "there are many ways to deal with the criminal investigation…" and that the investigation in the case must continue. "...We know that Volkswagen is a legendary motor vehicle manufacturer, we are admirers of it... We have had the highest respect for it since World War II...but you are wrong on the stage at which you are coming here," the bench had observed while reserving the order.
Representing Volkswagen, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had argued that the National Green Tribunal was already cognisant of the issue since December 2015 after a complaint was filed. In March 2019, the apex green tribunal had imposed a penalty on the carmaker, which was then stayed by the Supreme Court.
A fresh case could not be initiated when the same matter was already under adjudication, Singhvi had added. We had come to the SC in connection with the NGT matter, and there was immediate stay. This FIR was filed even as the matter is pending (in the NGT). Even the allegations made in the FIR are similar to the contentions made in the NGT application, he had said.
The top court at the time had disagreed with Singhvi's submission.
Investigation in alleged cheat of emission norms needed: Allahabad HC
On October 1, the high court had dismissed the carmaker's plea observing that the question as to whether a 'cheat device' was installed in the vehicles purchased by the customer and whether they satisfy the BS-IV norms or not, is a matter of investigation and the investigation cannot be interfered with by this Court on an erroneous interpretation of the interim order of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court had restrained the Centre from taking "coercive" steps against the carmaker over non-payment of the Rs. 500 crore fine imposed by the NGT in its March 2019 order.
Cheat devices in car cause environmental damage: NGT
In December 2015, Volkswagen had announced a recall of 3,23,700 lakh vehicles in India to fix emission software after it was found that their on-road emissions were 1.1—2.6 times higher than the applicable norms. The car maker's move came in the wake of the global emission scandal or "Dieselgate" where it had admitted to installing cheat devices in its diesel cars to adhere to US regulatory norms.
In December 2018, the NGT-panel had estimated that Volkswagen cars released 48.678 tonnes of NOx (nitrogen oxide) in 2016. Using Delhi as its base city to calculate damages, the panel had "estimated cost of health damage due to additional NOx from the Volkswagen group vehicles is approximately Rs. 171.34 crore."
The NGT in 2019 led by Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had enhanced amount of compensation to Rs. 500 crores to create "deterrence".