Take call on permanent firecracker ban: Supreme Court to Delhi govt

The Supreme Court on Monday said that no religion wants to promote pollution, stressing that every citizen has a fundamental right to live in a pollution-free environment and giving the Delhi government two weeks to decide on whether the Capital should have a permanent ban on firecrackers throughout the year.

The court’s observations came weeks after the ban was flouted in the Capital during Diwali, with residents across the city buying and bursting firecrackers and police and other enforcement agencies choosing to look the other way.
“Prima facie we believe no religion encourages activity that causes pollution. The right to live in a pollution-free environment is the right of every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution. If firecrackers are burned in this fashion, it affects the fundamental rights of citizens,” a bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka said.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by environmental activist and lawyer MC Mehta to rid Delhi of pollution caused by several factors, firecrackers being one of them. The court was informed that, this year, the Delhi government imposed the ban on sale, storage or manufacture of crackers from October 14 to January 1 and deliberations on whether it should be extended beyond this period required all stakeholders to be consulted.
To be sure, the SC in 2018 asked for only green crackers to be allowed in NCR, setting a two-hour window within which these firecrackers could be burst. However, such a ban needs to be notified at the state level. While the NCR states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been notifying a ban on only conventional firecrackers, allowing green firecrackers to be burst during Diwali, Delhi since 2020 has notified a complete ban at the state level — disallowing even green firecrackers to be burst. The latest ban is in place till January 1, 2025 — similar to last year’s ban, which was notified only till January 1, 2024.
Posting the matter on November 25, the bench, also comprising justice Augustine George Masih, said, “We direct the Delhi government to take a decision on extending the ban by consulting all stakeholders before November 25.”
The court also directed the Delhi Police to create a special cell for enforcing the October 14 ban and ensure the station house officer (SHO) of each police station is made responsible for implementing it.
The Delhi Police, on its part, told the court that the ban came into force two days after Dusshera, allowing manufacturers sufficient time to sell and stock crackers. Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the police said action was taken against the “illegal sale” of firecrackers, adding that 21,510kg of fireworks was seized.
But the bench was not impressed. “This is just an eyewash. You have only seized raw material for the production of firecrackers.” The police’s affidavit showed that the seized goods included 500kg of potash and Gandhak. Bhati said she will take instructions whether the seized goods included crackers.
Firecrackers have become increasingly associated with religious identity due to their central role in Diwali celebrations. However, environmental concerns around pollution have fuelled debates, with some perceiving restrictions on firecrackers as targeting Hindu traditions, thus deepening the association of their usage with religious expression.
The court wanted to know whether licensed manufacturers were told to immediately stop sale of firecrackers after October 14. “Did you issue them notices to stop the sale of crackers in the places where licenses were granted?” it asked, seeking a personal affidavit from the Delhi Police commissioner on steps taken to enforce the ban. “We direct the Delhi Police to inform all manufacturers and ensure that during the ban, no manufacture, sale or stocking is done,” the bench added.
The Delhi government, represented by advocate Jyoti Mendiratta, said that the October 14 ban was put in place considering Diwali and New Year celebrations. A complete ban, according to her, would require deliberations with stakeholders involving various departments of the government.
“According to your order, after January 1, firecrackers can be used. The decision on perpetual ban has to be immediate,” the court said. “We wonder why the Delhi government delayed promulgation of the order of October 14. It is quite possible that users who used the firecrackers during the ban period would have stocked firecrackers in advance.”
The police and Delhi government filed responses to a November 4 order in which the court cited news reports to show how firecrackers were burnt in the city with impunity. It questioned the efficacy of the ban by the Delhi government as also a Supreme Court order of October 2018 by which the sale and manufacture of firecrackers in Delhi was banned, while allowing the government to formulate “green crackers”.
In late 2018, the Supreme Court ordered the use of “green” firecrackers, mandating a complete ban on regular firecrackers in NCR. The court mandated PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) with certification and compliance and CSIR-NEERI was tasked to create such products. It came up with formulation for three kinds of products which were without barium nitrate and potassium nitrate (key toxic compounds) and fewer aluminum compound. CSIR-NEERI has listed over 500 firecracker makers to whom it licenses these formulations but verifying whether these alone are the products sold is difficult.
To be sure, pollution in Delhi is a mix of several factors such as dust, vehicular pollution, industrial pollution, biomass burning, poor solid waste management among others. Delhi generally sees a spike in pollution the day after Diwali, following widespread bursting of firecrackers which can spike the overall air quality by 20 to 30 times the permissible limits. If meteorological conditions are unfavourable, these emissions can stay in the air for several days. Delhi’s AQI has spiked the day after Diwali in eight of the last nine years, barring 2022, when strong winds helped AQI improve the day after, rather than worsen. 
The court on Monday also took up a matter on stubble burning after questioning a spike in farm fires in Punjab around Diwali during the November 4 hearing.
An affidavit by Punjab showed that 1,440 farm fires were reported in 10 days prior to Diwali, while in just three days after Diwali (November 1-3), 1,182 stubble-burning incidents were reported. In Haryana, the corresponding periods registered 49 and 22 farm fires respectively.
The states submitted that criminal action had been lodged against 32 officials in Haryana and 56 in Punjab for failing to prevent the fires under Section 14 of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in Delhi and Adjoining Areas.
But the bench pulled up the two states for their “reluctance” to act against farmers and officials. “How can it be that only 32 officers in Haryana and 56 officers in Punjab have been booked when there were hundreds of cases of farm fires? State owes an explanation to this court for inaction. For extraneous reasons, both governments have not taken action against farmers. Officers are sparing violators and in turn, you are sparing officers,” it said.
The court directed Punjab and Haryana to file better affidavits, and posted the stubble-burning matter to be heard on December 16.