NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said it will not impose a total ban on firecrackers this Diwali, nor allow them to be burst through the day, and will instead fix the hours and the types of crackers that can be used.
"Neither we are going to agree with you for total ban. Nor are we going to allow them to do it 24 hours," the bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale said on September 30, according to Social News XYZ. The court said it wanted to "find a solution whereby we can give specified time, and we can specify what are the crackers to be used".
Between sentiment and smoke
The bench said it had to "strike a balance between religious sentiments and the harmful effects of air pollution", All India Radio reported. A complete ban could "hurt the sentiments of people celebrating Diwali", while unlimited use would "adversely affect the environment and vulnerable groups".
"Total ban will affect sentiments. And allowing them throughout the day will have a huge impact on every other living being," the court said, according to Bar and Bench.
The case concerns restrictions on firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region and other northern states during periods of severe air pollution.
Joint crackers and barium
The Union government proposed allowing a new generation of joint green crackers, with limits on shell size, the number of shells and the interval between bursts, and the bench indicated it was inclined to accept the suggestion subject to safeguards, Social News XYZ reported.
The bench was also inclined to permit joint firecrackers, known as "larri", in which a string of crackers is linked by a single fuse so that they go off one after another, subject to conditions, All India Radio reported.
One question is still open: barium. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati asked for more time to place before the court the Central Pollution Control Board's report on barium-based firecrackers. "Outdoor testing of barium-based firecrackers is yet to be conducted. I am requesting time till October 15," she said. The court granted the request.
What happens next
The court will take up the matter again on October 15, when it is expected to hear the pollution board's findings before setting the time limits and the list of permitted crackers.
What the court allowed last year
A similar balance was struck for Diwali 2025. On October 15, 2025, a bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran allowed the sale of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR from October 18 to 21, with bursting permitted from 6 am to 7 am and from 8 pm to 10 pm, Scroll reported.
Sales were limited to designated places, the QR codes of green crackers had to be uploaded to official websites for tracing, online sales were banned, crackers from outside the National Capital Region were barred, and sellers of fake products faced immediate suspension of their licences. "Conventional firecrackers are smuggled, which causes more damage. We have to take a balanced approach," the court said then, describing its aim as balancing the "sentiments of individuals during the festive season, livelihood concerns of the industry and the right to clean air".
The pollution control boards were told to monitor air and water quality and report on the effect of fireworks between October 14 and 21. For residents of Delhi and the National Capital Region, this year's order will again decide how long the celebrations can run each night.
0 comments
No comments yet. Comments are read by our team before they appear.