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The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city ahead of the festival season.
During a hearing on Wednesday, the top court noted that if the government has issued a ban on the use, storage and sale of firecrackers, then the bench cannot stop these prohibitory orders.
“Wherever there is a ban, there is a ban. If you feel like bursting crackers, go to a state which has not banned it,” the Supreme Court said.
On September 11, to combat high pollution levels in the city, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital.
The top court was hearing a petition filed in 2015.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had sought a withdrawal of the ban and told the bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh that a complete ban has been imposed on firecrackers despite the court allowing the bursting of green firecrackers.
“No, we are not going to interfere. When the government banned firecrackers, it means a complete ban. People’s health is important. If you want to burst firecrackers, go to states where there is no ban,” the bench told the counsel appearing for Tiwari.
Tiwari’s counsel further said that his client, being an MP, was responsible for his constituents and the court had allowed the bursting of green firecrackers.
“You should make the people understand that they should not burst firecrackers. Even you should not burst firecrackers during victory processions after elections. There are other ways of celebrating the victory,” the bench told Tiwari, who is an MP from North East Delhi.
COURT PULLS UP DELHI COPS OVER SALE OF CRACKERS
During the hearing, the central government informed the court that detailed studies have been conducted by agencies, including CSIR- NEERI and PESO, in conjunction with firecracker manufacturers.
“Formulations for the low pollution crackers have been created and approvals have been given by PESO. This court may consider lifting the ban and taking this case to its logical conclusion,” submitted Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati.
The ASG informed the court that regulatory mechanisms including regular testing facilities, random sampling by police and local authorities and training of the manufacturers to ensure that the correct “low pollution” formulas are used for manufacturing crackers have been introduced.
“The RACE- Raw material, competition analysis and testing facility has been set up by the government and cracker manufacturers in August 2023, with a capacity to conduct 5000 sample tests per year,” said the ASG.
“Quality control, emission testing and composition are being tested for low pollution crackers,” the court was told. “More than 1000 cracker manufacturers have been trained,” she said further.
On the other hand, Senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayan, appearing for the petitioners, opposed the government’s plea to allow the manufacturing of “green crackers.”
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