Lack of charging points keeping buyers away from electric cars, says Supreme Court

The lack of adequate charging infrastructure is discouraging people from buying electric cars despite growing interest in cleaner mobility, the Supreme Court observed on Friday, stressing that India’s transition away from fossil-fuel vehicles would require accessible charging facilities.

A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe made the oral observations while hearing a petition concerning the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) allotment of land for an electric vehicle charging facility.

Justice Narasimha recounted a conversation with a person whom he had advised to consider purchasing an electric car. The person, he said, responded by pointing to the difficulty of finding charging points near his home or at places he travelled to.

Charging gap deters buyers

“Because there are no charging points, people are not buying electric cars,” Justice Narasimha observed during the hearing.

The judge said a large-scale transition from fossil-fuel vehicles to electric mobility could make a significant difference for the country, but such a shift would be difficult unless the supporting infrastructure was created.

“If you buy electric cars and transform from fossil fuel into electric, it’s going to be a world of difference for our country,” he said, adding that the transition could not happen effectively without the necessary facilities.

The remarks were oral observations made during the proceedings and did not constitute a direction of the court.

Chargers at Supreme Court

Justice Narasimha also suggested that charging points could be installed at the Supreme Court premises, allowing electric vehicle owners to charge their cars while attending proceedings.

“If you park your car in the Supreme Court here, by the time you discuss the matter, you have to get your car charged. That will be advantageous. Ask them to provide charging,” the judge remarked.

The exchange brought into focus one of the practical challenges confronting India’s electric mobility push — ensuring that charging facilities expand sufficiently to give motorists confidence to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

Land allotment challenged

The issue arose during the hearing of a petition challenging the allotment of a parcel of MIDC land to another party on a priority basis for setting up an EV charging facility.

Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the petitioner, argued that his client owned an adjoining plot where an industry was already operating and had sought a portion of the available land for expansion.

He submitted that the land could have been divided in a manner that accommodated both the existing industrial unit’s expansion requirements and the proposed charging facility.

The bench, however, noted that the decision to allot the land for an EV charging facility was supported by a policy objective and could not be termed arbitrary merely because the petitioner had not secured the plot.

“All that we are telling you is, the decision to allot to him is not an arbitrary decision. It’s a policy,” Justice Narasimha observed.

Court suggests solution

Rather than interfering with the policy rationale behind the allotment, the court suggested that the petitioner approach the authorities to explore whether the remaining land could be allocated in a manner that addressed concerns relating to access and expansion.

The hearing came at a time when India’s EV charging network is expanding but questions remain over its scale, accessibility and reliability as electric vehicle adoption grows.

The Supreme Court’s observations underscored that incentives for buying electric vehicles alone may not be sufficient to accelerate the transition. The availability of convenient charging infrastructure — at homes, workplaces, public institutions and along major routes — remains an important factor in whether consumers are willing to replace conventional vehicles with electric alternatives.