The Supreme Court rules against the manufacture and sale of green firecrackers
The Supreme Court said that its 2018 ruling prohibiting the use of fireworks will be strictly implemented.
The Supreme Court on Friday said no to the manufacturing and sale of green firecrackers “for the time being,” dismissing a petition requesting the manufacture and usage of barium-based firecrackers. The Delhi government’s decision to restrict the use of firecrackers in the national capital ahead of the Diwali holiday was upheld by the court.
The court further said that the 2018 prohibition will be strictly implemented by all agencies.
Following a lengthy hearing, a bench of justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh reserved the order last week.
In 2022, Bharatiya Janata Party politician Manoj Tiwari filed a petition contesting the blanket ban on firecrackers during Diwali festivities in Delhi. During the hearing, the court questioned if they could serve as a higher authority above the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and it also said that key institutions must be trusted.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the government, informed the court that although Barium was prohibited in the government plan, it was just for the 2018 Diwali.
The court said that in Delhi, everything is now prohibited, whether green or otherwise. Bhati further informed the court that the Delhi Police Department has not given a permanent license for firecrackers since 2016. She also informed the court that all permanent firework production licenses had been withdrawn and that police will check all licensees’ premises.
The court said that just penalizing those who shot the crackers is insufficient, and that authorities must get to the source of these crackers.
The Supreme Court confirmed in 2021 that there is no blanket prohibition on the use of firecrackers, and that only pyrotechnics containing barium salts are illegal.
