Order on firecrackers applies to all states, not only NCR: Supreme Court

“At this juncture, no specific order will be necessary in as much as this Court, in the course of hearing the petitions, has passed several orders, where steps have been indicated to minimise and avoid air as well as noise pollution. Hence the said orders will bind every state in the country, including the state of Rajasthan. Therefore, we make it clear that the state of Rajasthan would also take note of this and take all steps to minimize air and noise pollution, not only during the festival season, but even thereafter,” the bench said.

The counsel appearing for the applicant told the bench that there appeared to be a perception that the SC order is restricted to Delhi-NCR while the fact is it applies across the country. He urged the court to issue some direction to clear the air.

In October 2018, the apex court had banned the production and sale of all crackers except ‘green crackers’ and those with reduced emissions (improved crackers). It also banned the manufacture and sale of ‘joined crackers’, prohibited the use of barium salts in fireworks and said their noise levels should be within permissible limits. The court also banned their online sales and directed that they can be sold only through licensed traders and laid down the time schedule for bursting on various occasions.

The court reiterated this in its October 29, 2021 order.

The court also made it “clear that there is no total ban on use of firecrackers” and that “only those firecrackers are banned, as directed… which are found to be injurious to health.