Sikkim resolved its fuel shortage, reversed the odd-even vehicle ban it had imposed to manage it, and will now appear in the High Court on June 9 to justify a policy it no longer enforces.
Faced with a fuel shortage in May, the Sikkim government implemented a statewide odd-even vehicle restriction — prompting the High Court to immediately take up a PIL asking the government to explain the travel curbs and what alternative public transport had been arranged. The government noted the court's interest, noted also that more fuel had arrived, and on May 31 revoked the ban across the entire state, except Gangtok, which retained the restriction for reasons the administration did not fully explain. The opposition declared this a victory of public pressure. The High Court declared the case would continue anyway, and the government will appear on June 9 to defend a policy it has since retired. Sikkim thus becomes a state that must legally justify a governance decision it has already voluntarily abandoned, which is at least more honest than defending one that is still running.