fective throughout the country with effect from 01.04.2020 and this Court had directed that - non-BS-IV compliant vehicles shall not be regis tered on or after 01.04.2017. The situation in the present case is totally different. 31.03.2020 is almost 1½ years away. There is sufficient time for the manufacture to change over to the new system and, therefore, we see no reason why they should be given a window of three or six months for sale of accumulated vehicles. Every vehicle sold after the cutoff date of 01.04.2020 is bound to cause more pollution and therefore, the manufacturers, in our considered view, cannot be permitted to sell any non BSVI compliant vehicle on or after 01.04.2020. On the one hand, the Government has been proactive in spending huge amounts of money to move to the BSVI technology, but on the other hand, the automobile industry is coming up with a variety of untenable excuses just to delay the introduction of BSVI compliant vehicles by a few months. We, in our judgment dated 13.04.2017, had clearly held “when the health of millions of our countryman is involved, notification relating to commercial activities ought not to be interpreted in a literal manner”. We have to give a purposive interpretation to notifications specially those dealing with public health issues and even more so, when health not only of the citizens at present but also the citizens in the future is involved. There is more than sufficient time for the manufacturers to manufacture BSVI compliant vehicles. They already have the technology to do so. The automobile industry must show the will, responsibility and urgency in this regard.
