Why limit firecracker ban to Delhi-NCR? SC for adopting pan-India policy

As the festive season of Dasehra and Diwali approaches, the Supreme Court on Friday questioned why a ban on firecrackers should apply only to Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), suggesting it should instead be extended across the entire country.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai asked, “If citizens residing in the NCR are entitled to pollution-free air, why not citizens in other parts of the country? Just because this is the capital city or the Supreme Court is situated here, we should have pollution-free air… but not other citizens? We can’t have a policy just for Delhi because they’re elite citizens of the country.” The CJI made the remarks while hearing the MC Mehta case on air pollution in Delhi-NCR caused by firecrackers, stubble burning and other sources.

The Bench said it would be incorrect to assume the right to pollution-free air is limited to Delhi-NCR residents.

Amicus Curiae and senior counsel Aparajitha Singh told the court, “Elites take care of themselves. They leave Delhi when there’s pollution… and they have air purifiers. But it’s the people on the streets, the labourers, who don’t have a choice.”

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, informed the Bench that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was developing green crackers and that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) would submit a report on the issue in consultation with NEERI.

The Bench, which also included Justice K Vinod Chandran, said, “Let the report come. We will examine.” It scheduled the next hearing for September 22.

The court was hearing an application from firecracker manufacturers in Haryana seeking modification of the court’s April 3, 2025 order, which imposed a complete ban on the manufacturing, storage, sale and use of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.

When Singh said Delhi’s winter pollution levels caused people to “literally choke,” the CJI responded, “I was in Amritsar last winter and the pollution there was worse than in Delhi. If firecrackers are to be banned, they should be banned throughout the country.”

The CJI agreed with Singh’s call for a “national response” to a “national problem,” stating that any policy must be pan-India.

The CJI also highlighted the economic impact on poor workers dependent on the firecracker industry, noting that they too must be considered. Singh pointed out that workers affected by previous construction bans were compensated by the state.

Senior lawyer K Parameshwar, representing firecracker manufacturers, submitted that the authorities had begun revoking licences, which were otherwise valid until 2028-30, due to the ban. The Bench directed the authorities to maintain the status quo regarding licence cancellations until the next hearing.