Auto emission from vehicles more than 15 years old, held as a perennial source of pollution in the city, is set to come under the Calcutta High Court scanner again.

A division bench of Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Justice P.K. Ghosh on Thursday allowed environment activist Subhas Dutta to move an application seeking revival of a case, filed in 2002, related to pollution in the city due to poison fumes emitted by old vehicles.

The case was disposed of by a bench presided over by then Chief Justice A.K. Mathur in 2005, after the government submitted that emission-testing centres had been set up across the city. Related issues, like upgrade of engines or phasing out of old vehicles, were not considered then.

The issues are likely to come under legal consideration this time.

“You have the liberty to file a fresh application seeking revival of the case related to auto emission,” the division bench of Chief Justice Nijjar told Dutta. The bench made the comment while hearing a petition by the green activist on the city’s air pollution at night, caused by goods vehicles coming in from the districts and other states.

The chief justice asked Dutta why his petition was restricted to goods vehicles alone. “Why did you not mention about the emission from other vehicles?” the bench asked.

Dutta referred to the earlier case, in which the court had set up a committee to suggest ways to fight pollution caused by auto emission.

“The panel had recommended a 23-point programme, which included phasing out old vehicles and upgrading engines. But the court disposed of the petition after the state submitted that it had implemented one of the recommendations — setting up of emission-testing centres.”

Dutta later said he would file a fresh plea in a week.