"Everything Is Sold Openly": Supreme Court Slams Flouting of Firecracker Ban in Delhi
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Taking strong judicial exception to widespread defiance of environmental directives ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday voiced profound dissatisfaction over the unhindered sale of conventional, toxic, and non-certified fireworks across the National Capital Region. Confronting the open distribution of prohibited crackers despite stringent curbs laid out just a day prior, the apex court took suo motu note of investigative media disclosures and directed the central government to immediately intervene and investigate ongoing enforcement lapses across retail hubs in Delhi.
Apex Bench Takes Cognizance of Media Exposé: Justices Confront Centre with Photographic Evidence
A division bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale initiated the judicial reprimand during morning proceedings, drawing the direct attention of Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati to front-page newspaper reports published on Tuesday. The bench pointed out that investigative photojournalism clearly documented retail outlets and local bazaars openly stocking, marketing, and selling all categories of fireworks without administrative friction. Justice Sundresh remarked that the published images demonstrated that barely twenty-four hours after the highest court defined strict boundaries, everything was readily accessible to the general public, indicating a total breakdown of regulatory deterrence on the ground.
Rampant Trade in Unlicensed and Non-QR Code Crackers: Barium-Loaded Formulations Flood Markets
Addressing ASG Bhati, the bench observed that commercial vendors across Delhi have been peddling licensed, unlicensed, authentic, and counterfeit fireworks indiscriminately, completely ignoring the mandatory QR-code verification protocol established to authenticate eco-friendly stock. The court emphasized that consignments lacking verified QR codes or certified origins—including chemical varieties laden with banned barium salts and prohibited joint series (laris)—were actively being traded in open violation of legal mandates. Stating that the illicit trade defeats the entire purpose of judicial intervention aimed at curbing toxic winter air pollution, the judges instructed law enforcement and central authorities to crack down on unauthorized distributors immediately.
Conditional Windows for Green Crackers: Strict CSIR-NEERI and PESO Guidelines Flouted Ahead of Time
The reprimand comes right after the Supreme Court's November 2 ruling, which had permitted only certified green firecrackers bearing formulations cleared by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). The court’s order had specifically restricted the retail sale of these approved green crackers to a narrow three-day window from November 4 to November 6, exclusively at designated authorized physical spots, while enforcing a total ban on all e-commerce transactions. Furthermore, the bench had authorized the bursting of crackers only on November 7 and 8 within strictly regulated time bands—from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM—with an absolute, blanket ban taking effect across Delhi-NCR starting November 9. With vendors openly selling uncertified inventory days before the permissible sales window even opened, the top court's latest directive places the onus on central monitoring bodies and Delhi Police to enforce compliance without exception.
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