New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed a complete ban on sale of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR) ahead of the upcoming festival of Diwali.
The ban would remain in effect until 31 October.
While doing so, a bench headed by justice A.K. Sikri reimposed its earlier order of November 2016 that had suspended sale of firecrackers.
The court said that it wanted to test the quality of air in the NCR region after Diwali.
The court was hearing a plea by three children—Arjun Gopal and two others—seeking restoration of last year’s order banning sale of firecrackers.
On 12 September, the court partially lifted its ban order of November suspending permanent licences in NCR.
Under the order, the court had asked traders to utilize their existing stocks and not sell fresh stock. It had also cut temporary licences of the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by 50%. Temporary licences in Delhi were capped at 500.