The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to alter its permanent ban on firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR), dismissing a plea filed by firework manufacturers who sought either a temporary ban of 3-4 months, permission for green firecrackers, or restricting the ban only to Delhi, citing loss of livelihood.
The court was considering a bunch of applications moved by associations of dealers and manufacturers of fireworks who challenged successive orders passed by the top court since December 2024, directing NCR states to have a year-long ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of firecrackers.
A bench headed by justice Abhay S Oka said the prohibition is “absolutely essential” considering the “horrible” air quality in Delhi-NCR.
“The ban is in Delhi-NCR only. We feel that a ban is absolutely necessary. Restricting it to a few months will not serve any purpose as the crackers will be stored beyond and after the ban period. Unless pollution by crackers is bare minimum, there is no question of lifting the ban,” the court said.
Dismissing the plea, the bench, also comprising justice Ujjal Bhuyan, said that the right to healthy and pollution-free air is the right of every citizen.
“Common man cannot afford to have an air purifier in home and office. A large number of people live on the streets. After all, right to health is an essential part of Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India and so also is the right to live in a pollution-free environment,” the it said.
Delhi and Haryana have already banned the online sale of firecrackers, and the court directed Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to enforce the same within two weeks, when the matter will be next heard.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus curiae, pointed out the terrible situation that develops in the days around Diwali, when the air quality worsens to hazardous levels. She said, “The elite leave Delhi but people living in shanties and by the wayside suffer the most. The elderly and those who cannot afford air purifiers have to suffer as even doctors claim during these days, there is high incidence of asthma cases in hospitals.”
Senior advocate ANS Nadkarni, appearing for the manufacturers, cited a top court ruling of October 23, 2018, permitting community fireworks and allowing green firecrackers to be sold while banning conventional fireworks. However, the court pointed out that the 2018 judgment was considering the impact of fireworks on a pan-India basis and was not specific to Delhi-NCR. It said, “Much water has flown since 2018…our orders passed during the last six months will bring on record the horrible situation in Delhi due to air pollution… Our direction to ban firecrackers was due to this extraordinary situation faced by the capital city of India.”
The court also dealt with an application by the group Hindu Dharma Rakshak, objecting to the ban by claiming that firecrackers do not cause pollution. As the directions of the court were passed in a public interest litigation filed by lawyer-activist MC Mehta in 1985 for solving Delhi’s pollution problem, the group claimed that Mehta received funds from an “international organisation” supporting “Naxal activities” to carry out the litigation against fireworks.
The bench dismissed the plea, saying, “Personally, we do not know who MC Mehta is. But orders have been passed in his matters since 1980s which has carved out the framework on environmental law, protection of forests, and saving Taj Mahal from pollution.”
Leave a Reply