Supreme Court allows certified green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR on 7 and 8 November; full ban returns 9 November

The Supreme Court on Monday, 2 November, allowed the manufacture, sale and bursting of approved green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for a limited period ahead of Diwali, and directed that the complete ban be restored from 9 November, per LiveLaw and Hindustan Times. This piece is as of the evening of 2 November.

What the court allowed

The bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale opted for a regulated approach rather than a blanket prohibition, per Hindustan Times. The two reports differ on the hours. Hindustan Times says green firecrackers can be burst between 6 am and 7 am and from 8 pm to 10 pm on 7 and 8 November. LiveLaw says the court permitted bursting between 6 am and 8 pm on 7 November and between 7 am and 10 pm on 8 November.

LiveLaw adds that the court temporarily restored the licences of firecracker traders whose licences had been cancelled, allowing them to sell approved green crackers between 4 and 6 November. It says the court called the relaxation temporary and subject to stringent safeguards, directed authorities to ensure that only CSIR-NEERI-approved green crackers are sold and that conventional firecrackers do not enter the market under the guise of green ones, and that the directions are broadly in line with last year's order allowing a similar relaxation.

The court's reasoning

According to Hindustan Times, the bench noted that the earlier complete ban had neither significantly improved air quality nor prevented the illegal sale and use of conventional firecrackers, and that restrictions had repeatedly been violated, with conventional crackers sold under the guise of green ones. The bench observed that, although a blanket ban "seems to be the ideal solution", the court was "short of adequate data" to decide whether a complete ban would be best. The paper says the court acknowledged that firecrackers contribute to pollution but stressed that the problem lay in implementation, calling for better coordination among stakeholders and sustained monitoring beyond the festive season.

LiveLaw says the court emphasised that it intends not only to regulate the coming Diwali but to bring about a holistic change in public perception of firecrackers.