Earlier, the Government of India introduced the Scrappage policy back in February 2021 and was put into effect in April 2022. This new policy was loosely based on the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ programme in the US to attract and push used car owners to scrap their old cars.
However, in a recent turn of events, the High Court of Delhi ordered the respective Transport Department to halt the scrappage of a Daewoo Matiz hatchback. This decision was taken on the basis of the court considering the car was her “family car” and part of the family heritage.
Diving into details, the Daewoo Matiz in question belonged to Sushma Prasad, a retired government employee. According to Sushma, her car was seized and sent for scrappage by concerned officials without prior notice.
This was against her will as she did not want that car to be scrapped as it held a lot of sentimental value and represented her family heritage. She also added that she was planning to convert her car into an EV with retrofit kits.
Her plea to the court included a person’s right to protect and preserve tangible entities to ensure the continuation of family values and heritage. On top of that, she also stated that the car was her mother’s gift.
After hearing the plea, Justice Manoj Ohri issued an order that halted the scrappage of Sushma’s Matiz. However, the court also recorded the assurance of Sushma that the car would neither ply nor be parked at public places unless for the above-mentioned retrofitting purposes.
Thoughts: The decision from the Delhi High Court will give hope to many old car users in the capital. However, it is to be noted that this is just a stay order regarding the scrappage of Sushma’s car and not a stay in the scrappage policy itself.
