The Delhi High Court on Wednesday delivered a sharp warning to the central government over the city’s worsening air pollution. The court asked the government to either ensure citizens have access to clean air or immediately reduce the GST on air purifiers. The bench, comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, termed reducing the 18% tax the highest under the GST system as the “minimum” action required amid a public health emergency.
The hearing followed a petition by advocate Kapil Madan, who urged the court to classify air purifiers as ‘medical devices’ and reduce their GST to 5%. The petitioner said that air purifiers have become essential to maintain safe indoor air. The current high tax makes them unaffordable for a large section of the population, creating an “unreasonable and constitutionally impermissible burden.”
Court stresses health emergency
The bench stressed the severity of the crisis, asking the government to calculate the harm caused to the nearly 30 million residents of Delhi-NCR. “This is the minimum you can do… every citizen requires fresh air. If you can’t do that, the minimum is to reduce GST. Treat this as an emergency,” the court remarked. The government was given a deadline of 2:30 pm to respond.
Delhi’s Air Quality remains dire
Air pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas continued to reach hazardous levels. Early Wednesday readings showed an AQI of 355 in Noida, 349 in Delhi, 316 in Gurugram, and 309 in Ghaziabad. Visuals from central Delhi showed a dense grey smog over Kartavya Path near India Gate during Republic Day parade rehearsals.
Last week, Delhi recorded AQI readings as high as 441, with the week before hitting 461 — the second worst December air quality day in history. Hazardous air quality has been linked to nearly 15% of all deaths in the city in 2023, according to Global Burden of Disease data.
Despite the urgency, Parliament did not discuss Delhi’s smog during the winter session, which concluded last Friday.
