Supreme Court allows green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR with conditions
What's the story
The Supreme Court of India has partially lifted its blanket ban on firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) for this year's Diwali celebrations. The court has allowed the use of certified "green crackers" on the day before and on Diwali day itself. The selling of green crackers is permitted from October 18 to October 21, 2025, from designated sites. The ban on all other conventional firecrackers continues to remain in effect.
Usage regulations
Designated places, specific time slots for bursting firecrackers
However, stringent conditions have been imposed, including specific time slots and designated places for their use. The permitted windows are from 6:00am to 7:00am in the morning and from 8:00pm to 10:00pm in the evening. Additionally, these firecrackers can only be burst at "designated places," which will be identified by local authorities as specific open areas or grounds for supervised community bursting.
Order
What the order said
The court also mentioned that there shall be no supply of firecrackers from e-commerce websites. "Police authority to constitute a patrolling team to keep an eye that only permitted products with QR codes are to be sold. Violation notice to be attached for persons who violate the rules. Use firecrackers shall be confined to 6 pm to 10 pm," the order said.
Court
'Have to take balanced approach'
The court issued the ruling after considering the fact that a complete ban leads to smuggling of crackers. "We have to take a balanced approach. Out of 22 districts in Haryana 14 districts fall in NCR. when the ban was imposed there was not much difference in air quality except during COVID period. The concept of green crackers was introduced after judgement in Arjun Gopal. Over 6 years green crackers have substantially reduced emission," the court noted.
Bench
Bench ordered blanket ban
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran heard the issue in the long-pending MC Mehta case involving air quality in the National Capital Region. Previously, on April 3, a two-judge bench ordered a year-long blanket ban on firecrackers, including green crackers, throughout the region. Several applications have since been made to have that order recalled.
CJI
SC hinted at lifting ban
The court hinted at the lifting of the ban while reserving the order on October 10. The CJI had verbally remarked on the possibility of lifting the firecracker ban only for Diwali. "For the time being, we will permit on the ban lifting during Diwali," he said. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued for lifting time restrictions on firecracker use. He said, "Let children celebrate with fervor," and emphasized that festivals should be celebrated without too many restrictions.