Traders Move Supreme Court, Seek Relaxation of Firecracker Ban

New Delhi: Traders with temporary licenses on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking relaxation of the ban on the sale of firecrackers in the national capital and the NCR.

Lawyers for the petitioners told the apex court that after the lifting of the November 2016 ban on September 12 this year, they had bought firecrackers for sale but the October 9 ban had caused them harm.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi where the matter was mentioned said they would discuss it with Justice A.K. Sikri who has given the October 9 ruling before listing it.

On Monday, the apex court has ruled that there will be no sale of firecrackers in Delhi and National Capital Region during Diwali, as it restored a November 2016 order banning the sale and stocking of firecrackers there.

The bench headed by Justice A.K. Sikri said: "We are of the view that the order suspending the licences should be given one chance to test itself in order to find out as to whether there would be positive effect of this suspension, particularly during Diwali period."

However, the court had said that the September 12 order lifting the ban on the sale and stocking of firecrackers in Delhi NCR will be back into effect from November 1.

Pointing to the adverse impact of the bursting of the fire crackers that is witnessed year after year, Justice Sikri, speaking for the bench, had said: "The air quality deteriorates abysmally and alarmingly and the city chokes thereby, it leads to closing the schools and the authorities are compelled to take various measures on emergent basis, when faced with 'health emergency' situation."

This very situation, the court said, had occurred on the very next morning after Diwali in the year 2016 and "resulted in passing the order dated November 11, 2016".

"This order prevailed during the year but the impact and effect of this order remains to be tested on Diwali days," the judgment had said.

It had said that all the temporary licences that police had issued in pursuance to September 12 order stand suspended forthwith "so that there is no further sale of the crackers in Delhi and NCR".

Further orders in this behalf can be passed on assessing the situation that would emerge after this Diwali season, it had added.