‘Orders becoming a mockery’: Supreme Court pulls up Delhi govt over firecracker curbs

Learn the stated distinction and keep the two meanings separate. Therefore, we are not inclined to impose a complete ban because, again, it will have a spiralling effect. The court said that it was not asking the authorities to prevent people from celebrating Diwali but to ensure that firecrackers were used responsibly and only within the permitted window.

Check the reported status and any stated limitations; do not assume an outcome beyond the source.

Use the stated distinction to avoid mixing up different meanings. The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Delhi government and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) for not adequately enforcing curbs on the sale and use of firecrackers, but reiterated its position that a complete ban was not the solution to the problem of pollution during the festive season.The top court indicated that it was likely to allow the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for a limited period on specified days this Diwali, though it reserved its order on a fresh interim arrangement. It becomes near mockery then,” the bench remarked.The court’s reluctance to impose a blanket prohibition follows its September 30 decision to permit specified next-generation green firecracker chains, or laris, subject to prescribed safeguards, while keeping the question of barium-containing crackers open for further scientific assessment.

• The Supreme Court subsequently imposed several restrictions, including a ban on barium salts in fireworks and on joined firecrackers, before permitting limited use of specified green crackers under regulated conditions.In 2025, the court partially modified its ban-on-firecrackers order of April 3, 2025 in Delhi-NCR by permitting the sale and bursting of crackers between October 18 and 20, coinciding with Diwali, under specified timings. • That Diwali, Delhi recorded its worst festival pollution peak since 2021. • HT’s analysis of eight monitoring stations with consistent data found that average PM2.5 concentrations peaked at 785.6 micrograms per cubic metre on Diwali night, the equivalent of an AQI of 812 on an index officially capped at 500.Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, told the bench that an enforcement mechanism was in place for this year but had not been presented to the court.