Supreme Court Enforces Firecracker Ban in NCR: States Must Comply!

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court told the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Haryana to strictly ban firecrackers in the NCR region. If they fail to do so, they will face serious consequences. A group of judges stated that these states must take action under the Environment Protection Act to completely stop the making, selling, and storing of all kinds of firecrackers, even online.

The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of following these orders and insisted that officials create a system to enforce this ban effectively. If they don’t follow the court’s orders, they could be held in contempt of court, which means facing legal action for not obeying the law.

In April, the court refused to lift the existing firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR because pollution levels were still very high. Many people work outdoors and suffer the most from this pollution, and not everyone can afford an air purifier to help. The court stated that without proof that “green crackers” were not polluting the air, they would not change their previous ban.

The judges explained that only banning firecrackers during the Diwali festival would not work, as people might buy and store them beforehand. In December 2024, the court ordered Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to completely ban firecrackers until further notice. They noted that Delhi had already enforced a full ban on firecrackers all year round, including online sales.

Even Rajasthan has put a similar ban in place in the NCR areas of the state. The court insisted that Uttar Pradesh and Haryana should follow Delhi’s example. The court’s concern over air pollution during Diwali led them to point out that their orders were often ignored.

This case originally started in 1985 when activist M C Mehta asked the court to help fight air pollution in Delhi and nearby areas.