Yesterday, the Supreme Court asked why a ban on firecrackers is being imposed only in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), pointing out that all Indians throughout the country are entitled to a pollution-free environment and that this kind of prohibition should be part of a national policy.
The comments were made in a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai during the hearing of several applications moved by firecracker manufacturers questioning the ban on the sale and production of firecrackers for a year in Delhi-NCR. The bench, which also included Justice K Vinod Chandran, said, "If citizens of the NCR are entitled to air free of pollution, why not so for citizens of other cities."
CJI Gavai mentioned his trip to Amritsar's Golden Temple during last winter, and he saw the intense pollution there. The bench further said, "Just because Delhi is the Capital city and the Supreme Court is located here, should other city citizens not receive pollution-free air."
The remarks by the court came in the wake of an appeal by fireworks merchants who pointed out that their businesses provide incomes for many families. Senior counsels Dama Sesadari Naidu and K Parameshwar contended that on April 3, the apex court declined to make changes to its prohibition, and even the green cracker mixtures designed by them were not taken into account by the Centre and the technical body NEERI.
The bench asserted, "Whatever policy of banning firecrackers exists, it must be pan-India. We can't have a special policy for Delhi where the elites reside. If firecrackers are to be prohibited, they must be prohibited countrywide. There must be the same policy across the country."
Traders also raised that the orders of the court are impacting their licenses, which have a validity of 2027-28, and sought urgent hearings. The petitions were moved by the Association of Firework Traders, Indic Collective, and Haryana Firework Manufacturers.
The Supreme Court asked the state authorities to keep the situation as is and fixed the next hearing on September 22, before the Dussehra and Diwali festivals.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting as amicus curiae, highlighted that Delhi’s pollution worsens during winter, reaching levels that can choke residents. She added that the court’s extraordinary measures were necessary given Delhi’s land-locked geography. Singh pointed out, "The elite of Delhi don't face the burden of pollution because in the days of extreme pollution, they like to drive outside Delhi." She also indicated that whenever emergency measures like bans on construction were taken, the court made sure that workers impacted were reimbursed.
The court noted, "When we place the ban on workers, they are rendered unemployed. It is the poor who suffer." The court consented to consider the issue in depth, instructing the Centre, along with NEERI, to give a response and an update regarding the formulation of green crackers.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, asserted that green cracker formulations are formulated in consultation with experts and agreed to submit the latest NEERI study.
The prohibition on the production, sale, and exploding of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has been active since December 2024 at the behest of courts. The court in April ruled that a year's ban was unavoidable in light of the "horrible" air quality in the area. Nearby states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan later followed the lead of Delhi and extended the ban to their NCR territory.
