New Delhi, Nov 2: In view of the Diwali celebrations, the Supreme Court has granted temporary permission to burst certified ‘green crackers’ in Delhi on Nov 7 and 8. However, the Court has clarified that this order applies only to these two days of Diwali; from Nov 9 onwards, the complete ban on firecrackers will be reinstated.
A bench comprising Supreme Court Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale delivered this significant verdict, aiming to strike a balance between pollution control and the observance of the festival.
Key highlights of the Supreme Court’s order:
Permission to burst firecrackers is granted only for specific time slots on November 7 and 8: from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM and from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Immediately after Diwali—that is, from November 9—a total ban on the manufacture, sale, and bursting of all types of firecrackers will be imposed across the Delhi-NCR region. Similarly, the bursting of any firecrackers is strictly prohibited within a 300-meter radius of hospitals, educational institutions, health centers, old-age homes, and silence zones.
Sale only through authorized outlets:
‘Green crackers’—bearing a QR code prescribed by CSIR-NEERI and PESO—must be sold exclusively through government-authorized outlets. Online sales are strictly prohibited. The court has directed the police to immediately revoke the licenses of any manufacturers or sellers who violate these rules and to initiate legal action against them.