Supreme Court Hints At Relaxing Absolute Ban On Firecrackers In Delhi-NCR; May Allow Green Crackers On Diwali
The Supreme Court on Friday(October 10) reserved its verdict on whether the absolute ban on firecrackers in the Delhi–National Capital Region should be relaxed during Diwali to allow the use of green crackers.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran heard the issue in the long-pending MC Mehta case concerning air quality in the NCR. Earlier, on April 3, a two-judge Bench had imposed a year-long blanket ban on firecrackers, including green crackers, in the region. Several applications have since been filed seeking recall of that order.
While reserving the order, the CJI verbally remarked on the possibility of lifting the firecracker ban only for the period of Diwali. "For the time being, we will permit on the ban lifting during Diwali".
Solicitor General seeks lifting of time restrictions : 'Let children celebrate with fervour'
During the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi NCR and Haryana, urged the Court to lift the time restrictions put on crackers.
"I would respectfully urge the timing - when we were children, at least 1 hour would go convincing the parents to come out as they would not allow us to do it alone- there should not be any restrictions on the timing, at least for few days. Let children celebrate with fervour"
The SG also submitted that the Union was seeking permission to allow the use of green crackers during festivals of Diwali, Christmas, New Year Eve and Gurupurab, ensuring that there is a balance and citizens also get to celebrate their festivals.
The following suggestions were proposed by the State of Delhi NCR and Haryana :
(1) Only green cracker approached by NEERI shall be permitted.
(2) Joint Crackers, Lardis are not manufactured, sold and used in the NCR;
(3) Sale shall be through licensed traders and the selling shall be through permitted manufacturers only;
(4) NCR State Government, GNCTD and PESO to ensure that no e-commerce website, including Flipkart, Amazon, etc shall accept any online orders and effect any online sales;
(5) Only Diwali or any other festivals, the bursting should be strictly allowed from 8-10 PM; for Christmas and New Year's Eve, it should be from 11:55 PM to 12:30 AM and for Gurpurab , from 4-5 AM and 9-10 PM.
(6) Green Crackers are to be developed after approval of the NEERI and PESO. The manufacturers are to create QR codes of the green products and submit it to NEERI and PESO;
(7) There would be strict action against manufacturing of unapproved cracker, including suspension of license, immediate seizure of the manufacturing sites
(8) Periodic checking by PESO, NEERI, GNCTD, State PCBs of firecracker samples for the presence of banned chemicals like barium, lithium, arsenic, antimony, lead, and mercury
The CJI also pointed out that in some regional traditions, Diwali is celebrated in the morning (Narak Chaturdashi), hence timings for that would also need to be considered.
On September 26, the Court had allowed the manufacture of green crackers in Delhi, subject to permits from the NEERI and PESO, and had asked the Centre to take a decision on revising the absolute ban.
Concerns Over Fake Green Crackers
Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh expressed concern over “fake” green crackers being sold under false labels, which continued to use polluting chemicals.
Justice Chandran suggested that random sampling and testing by the police and PESO could help identify violators. He stressed, "industry is also suffering, more than the industry, the marginalized sections."
The CJI also discussed the possibility of revisiting the 2018 judgment in Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, which allowed green crackers.
"We will revisit Arjun Gopal in case there is a decline, with modifications suggested by you (Union) and with modifications suggested by the Amicus , we will try to balance it."
Notably, in Arjun Gopal, the Court ruled against imposing a complete ban on firecrackers but has said that only less polluting green crackers can be sold, that too only through licensed traders. The Arjun Gopal judgment also fixed duration for the bursting of crackers. On the day of Diwali and other religious festivals, it will be between 8 PM and 10 PM. On Christmas and New Year eve, it will be allowed only between 11.45 PM and 12.45 AM. The Court had also ordered that crackers can be burst only in designated areas.
The CJI also inquired if there was any improvement in the AQI from 2018-2024, to which SG said it remained the same, except during the COVID period, the AQI improved.
During today's hearing, the CJI inquired whether air quality levels had improved since 2018. The Solicitor General responded that the AQI remained largely unchanged, except during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The amicus curiae also suggested the imposition of a 'Green Cess' to discourage polluting crackers.
Manufacturers Seek Limited Permission
Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, appearing for manufacturers, sought permission to continue manufacturing green crackers under strict regulatory oversight. He assured that the quantities and product details could be transparently declared online.
The Counsels for the Manufacturers of green fire crackers mainly contend that the order passed by the Court on April 3 - which extended the firecracker ban in NCR to the entire year instead of just the winter season - was in conflict with the 2018 judgment in the Arjun Gopal case.
Sr Advocates J Saideepak, Gopal Sankarnarayanan and ASG Aishwarya Bhati also appeared.
Case Title – MC Mehta v. Union of India WP (C) 13029/1985