Consider perpetual ban on firecrackers in Delhi: SC to Delhi govt
Proposing a permanent prohibition on firecrackers in the national capital, the Supreme Court Monday said the restrictions were “hardly implemented” this Diwali and asked the Delhi government and police to explain what measures were taken to ensure enforcement of the ban. Referring to submissions made by amicus curiae Aparajitha Singh, who cited a report of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a bench of Justices A S Oka and Augustine George Masih said it showed an increase in pollution levels in Delhi as well as a spike in farm fires during Diwali. “There cannot be any dispute that the ban was hardly implemented. Moreover, the effect of the non-implementation of the ban is very apparent from the report of CSE, which shows that the pollution level in Delhi on Diwali in 2024 was at an all-time high. It was much higher than Diwali of 2022 and 2023. Moreover, the report indicates that even farm fires were on the rise during Diwali days,” the court observed, while also referring to media reports.
