Picture : ANI/ X
Days ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court has said a complete ban on bursting of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR is ‘neither practical nor ideal’ as such restrictions were often violated and balancing of equities is needed.
According to media reports, The observations, which hinted towards relaxation of ban, were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran while reserving its order on a batch of pleas seeking permission to manufacture and sell ‘green’ firecrackers in Delhi and National Capital Region.
Vehement submissions were made seeking lifting of the blanket ban by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, NCR states. He also said that the children should be allowed to burst crackers on Diwali and other festivals without any time restrictions.
Questioning the blanket ban which has been in place since 2018 in Delhi-NCR, the bench asked the counsel for the authorities and others as to whether the ban has resulted in any tangible difference or led to decrease in the air quality index (AQI), an indicator of pollution level.
“Has the air quality index improved or worsened since 2018? Was the pollution much less then compared to now,” the CJI asked.
