Top Court seeks all-India firecracker ban, not for Delhi's elite only

The Supreme Court on Friday questioned why firecracker bans should apply only to Delhi-NCR and not to other cities facing severe pollution. Chief Justice BR Gavai observed that if citizens in NCR are entitled to clean air, “why not people of other cities?” and stressed that any firecracker policy “has to be on a pan-India basis.”

“We can’t have a policy just for Delhi because they’re elite citizens of the country. I was in Amritsar last winter, and the pollution was worse than in Delhi. If firecrackers are to be banned, they should be banned throughout the country,” the CJI added.

Amicus curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh supported the argument, remarking that “elites take care of themselves. They go out of Delhi when there’s pollution.”

The bench has issued notice to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on a plea seeking a nationwide ban on firecrackers.

The apex court was hearing a plea against its order on April 3. The court had, back then, refused to relax the ban on the manufacture, storage, and sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, noting that air pollution levels remained alarming for a considerable time. The matter has been posted by the Supreme Court for hearing on September 22, 2025.