‘No Production & Sale of Green Firecrackers’, Supreme Court Backs Delhi Govt

New Delhi: The Supreme Court backed the Delhi Government’s decision and said no to the production of green firecrackers on Friday. The court refused to interfere with the Delhi government’s decision to ban the use of firecrackers in the national capital ahead of the Diwali festival.

The court also added that the 2018 ban shall be duly enforced by all authorities. Last week, a bench of justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh reserved the order after hearing the matter at length.

During the hearing on the matter on Friday Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for the petitioners, urged the court to list the matter soon to which the bench replied, “We can only say happy Diwali.”

The court said that the order is limited only to the application by manufacturers jointly represented under Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) who agreed to abide by the green cracker formulations approved by the two expert bodies – Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and regulated by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO).

Similarly, in 2022 One of the pleas was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Tiwari, challenging the blanket ban on firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Delhi.

The court remarked that as of now everything is banned whether it is green or others in Delhi. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati also apprised the court that Delhi Police has not issued any permanent licence for the firecrackers since 2016. She also apprised the court that all permanent firework manufacturing licenses have been revoked and police will inspect all premises of licensees.