Diwali dampener: Supreme Court bans firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till November 1

Moneycontrol News

The Supreme Court has placed a ban on the sale of firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) during the upcoming festive season of Diwali. The ban will remain in effect till November 1.

The court said it wanted to evaluate the difference to air quality. A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri had on October 6 reserved its order on a plea seeking restoration of the apex court's last year order banning the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. The top court, through its November 11 order last year, had suspended all licences which "permit the sale of fireworks, wholesale and retail within the territory of NCR".

The top court, through its November 11 order last year, had suspended all licences which "permit the sale of fireworks, wholesale and retail within the territory of NCR".

On September 12, the apex court had temporarily lifted its earlier order suspending the permanent licences for sale of firecrackers in the national capital region, saying a complete ban would be an "extreme step" and a graded approach was needed to curb pollution caused by them.

The recent ban is in line with Supreme Court's previous plan to lift the ban on sale firecrackers after a "review" of ambient air quality post-Diwali.