Supreme Court imposes year-long firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR

The Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a year-long ban on the use, manufacture, sale and storage of firecrackers in Delhi and adjoining areas that form the National Capital Region, Live Law reported.

The bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that limiting the ban to just 3-4 months in a year would be ineffective, as fireworks would continue to be sold in other months and stored for use during the ban period.

“One can imagine the effect of air pollution on the common man as everyone cannot afford to have air purifiers at their residence or place of work,” the court further said. “There is a section of [the] population who works on streets and they are the worst affected by this pollution. After all right to health is an essential part of Article 21 of the constitution of India, so is right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere.”

The court ruled that “so-called green crackers” would not be exempt from the ban, citing a Union government report stating that their emissions were only 30% lower than those of conventional crackers.

On October 14, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee banned the production, storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2025.

Despite this, firecrackers were lit...

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