New Delhi: On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard a petition challenging the order banning firecrackers in Delhi. Chief Justice BR Gavai said that if the cities of Delhi-NCR have the right to clean air, then why don’t the people of other cities have the right?
While hearing the matter on pollution control, the bench of CJI Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said that if firecrackers are to be banned, then they should be banned across the country. The right to clean air cannot be limited to Delhi-NCR only, but citizens of the entire country should get it.
He said that whatever environmental policy is there, it should be implemented in the whole of India. We cannot make a policy for Delhi just because the elite class of the country is here. The next hearing will be on 22 September.
In fact, the Supreme Court’s order of 3 April 2025 has been challenged, in which a demand has been made to amend the order of complete ban on sale, storage, transportation and manufacture of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.
Earlier, while hearing the case of banning crackers in Delhi-NCR in April, the Supreme Court had called it extremely necessary. The court said that limiting the ban to a few months would not serve any purpose. People will collect crackers throughout the year and sell them when the ban is imposed.