The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to immediately take a call on relaxing Graded Response Action Plan stage-IV (GRAP-IV) restrictions to allow the resumption of physical classes in schools and colleges in Delhi and national capital regions.

A Bench of Justices AS Oka and Augustine George Masih ordered the CAQM to consider and decide by evening or latest by November 26 morning.

The court explained that various factors had led it to pass the order. These include that many students studying in primary classes and attending anganwadis were deprived of midday meals at their schools. Besides, a large number of these small children did not have the facility to attend online classes at home. Many of them did not have air purifiers at home. Hence, staying home made no difference.

The court asked the CAQM to decide if Classes 10 and 12 could also resume school. The Bench said there would be schools without online facilities while, on the other hand, there would be students who cannot afford online facilities at their homes.

“We are leaving it to the CAQM to decide if norms of GRAP III and IV can be relaxed, and exceptions could be carved, by today or by tomorrow morning,” the court observed.

The court, noting that the Air Quality Index in Delhi (not the NCR) ranged between 318 and 419 between November 20 and November 24, directed the CAQM to place updated data on the next date of hearing on November 29.

The updated data would be perused to consider and pass further orders on other GRAP IV measures.

The court took stern note of the fact that police personnel were not deployed at entry points to the national capital to prevent the entry of polluting vehicles, especially heavy trucks, despite the GRAP IV ban having kicked in on November 18.

Justice Oka, at one point, mulled prosecuting the Delhi Police Commissioner under Section 14 of the CAQM Act for deploying police personnel admittedly only in 23 checkpoints, instead of all, on November 18.

“You (Police Commissioner) sitting in the office decide that trucks will not want to come through the other 100 checkpoints?” Justice Oka asked.

The court directed the CAQM to immediately initiate action against the authorities concerned under Section 14 of the CAQM Act, 2021 for violating the provisions of the statute. “No earnest action was taken. Some police teams were deputed at only two entry points, that too without any specific instructions,” the Bench referred to the report of its 13 Court Commissioners.

The Bench pointed out that in some checkpoints police teams were deployed only on November 22, four days after GRAP IV was imposed, and that too after the apex court ordered so.

The court however acknowledged the fact that GRAP restrictions were affecting the livelihoods of various sections of the society, especially construction workers and daily wagers.

The court ordered the Government of National Capital Territories and other neighbouring States whose areas form parts of the National Capital Regions where GRAP was active to release labour cess funds for distribution among the workers to take care of their subsistence.

The court reminded the CAQM that it had authority under Section 12 of the 2021 Act to take several mitigating measures to protect labourers, daily wagers, etc, and ensure that they do not suffer.