सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने दीवाली में पूर्ण पटाखा प्रतिबंध नहीं किया, 'ग्रीन' विकल्पों को दी अनुमति

Supreme Court rules out blanket cracker ban ahead of Diwali: 'It will hurt sentiments'

The Centre and expert bodies have been given until October 15 to assess how barium-containing green crackers affect ambient air quality.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the use of “green” firecracker chains, refused to impose a total ban on firecrackers saying that this would hurt public sentiments, and gave the Centre and expert bodies time till October 15 to complete their assessment of the impact of barium content in other green crackers on ambient air quality.

The court’s decision once again raises questions on whether firecrackers can ever be truly green, and on the nature and intensity of monitoring to ensure that only green firecrackers are used, and only during the hours permitted.

SC seeks balance between environment, public sentiment

A bench of justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale said the court would neither permit a blanket ban on firecrackers nor allow unrestricted use for 24 hours, stressing the need to strike a balance between environmental concerns and public sentiment.

“A total ban will hurt certain sentiments and allowing 24 hours will have a huge impact on people, including old people, sick persons and children,” it observed.

Wednesday’s order comes after the Supreme Court first allowed so-called green firecrackers to be burst during Diwali in 2025 – the first time any such fireworks were allowed after years of a blanket prohibition put in place to fight the noxious air quality they left behind. That Diwali, HT’s analysis found, Delhi recorded its worst pollution peak since 2021, despite favourable weather.

Also read: Won't impose complete ban, won't allow incessant fireworks either: SC

New-generation laris get court approval

Wednesday’s order extends that relaxation nationwide and also clears firecracker chains or joined crackers — called laris — that remained banned even under the 2025 rules. The bench accepted the Centre’s position, based on consultations with experts from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), that specified next-generation joined crackers, or “laris”, could be permitted subject to prescribed safeguards. Laris are strings of crackers fused to go off one after another.

Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati told the court that the expert bodies were of the view that the new-generation joint crackers could be used as they recorded noise levels below 125 decibels, significantly lower than conventional crackers which generate noise levels ranging between 140 and 160 decibels, besides the fact that they did not use Barium in their compositions. Noise readings, however, say nothing about the fine particulate matter that accumulates in the Capital’s winter air.

Also read: Bombay high court calls for ban on street firecrackers during festivities, strict noise curbs

Expert bodies prescribe safeguards for laris

The experts, however, have prescribed conditions for manufacturers relating to the “shell number, shell size, and time between burst”, which will have to be adhered to for such crackers to qualify for use.

The hearing did not address how these conditions would be checked in the market.

HT’s reporting last year found that Delhi had no dedicated facility to test which crackers were genuinely green and there were rampant fudging of QR codes and packaging meant for green firecrackers.

The court’s permission for the next-generation joint crackers comes after it had, earlier this month, asked the Centre to examine whether a limited exemption from the existing restrictions could be worked out ahead of the festive season.

Barium-containing crackers remain under review

The more contentious issue of barium-containing green crackers, however, remained open.

Bhati told the court that open-ground tests were required to assess the actual impact of barium content on ambient air quality. The Centre and the expert bodies have now been given time till October 15 to complete the assessment.

Advocate Pooja Dhar, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that this court had specifically banned firecrackers containing barium and had disapproved of green-cracker formulations that included the chemical.

The Supreme Court had in 2018 imposed the blanket ban on crackers containing barium and barium salts after scientific studies by CSIR-NEERI indicated that their ignition released pollutants harmful to respiratory health. Barium salts, chiefly barium nitrate, help crackers burn more violently by supplying oxygen, and give fireworks their green colour.

On September 2, the court had allowed the Centre three weeks to specify the conditions under which new-generation green crackers could be permitted, observing that courts should give due credence to expert opinion in environmental matters.

“We may have a particular view that crackers are bad. But we need to have a balanced approach,” the bench had said, adding that courts should be “extremely slow” in substituting their own views for those of experts on environmental issues.

Such deference assumes that expert claims can be independently tested, an assumption Delhi’s experience in 2025 put under strain.

NEERI tests show lower PM10 emissions

The Centre had then informed the court that controlled laboratory tests conducted by NEERI on new-generation green crackers containing barium showed a 45% to 60% reduction in PM10 emissions.

These are laboratory results from NEERI, the institute whose studies led to the 2018 ban on barium. It had, however, proposed open-ground tests at four locations -- Delhi, Bhopal, Kolkata and Chennai, to assess their impact under actual conditions.

The court’s latest order follows the Centre’s consultations with the expert bodies on the formulation and use of green crackers.

The expert assessment on joint crackers has now resulted in the court permitting their specified next-generation variants, while the barium issue has been kept pending for further scientific evaluation.

The court also made clear that permitting specified crackers would not translate into unrestricted

bursting. “We will neither allow a total ban nor will we allow 24 hours bursting of crackers everywhere,” observed the bench, indicating that the final regulatory framework would have to specify both the category of crackers permitted and the duration for which they could be burst.

Also read: ‘Too much heat’ generated over deletion of CAPF contempt pleas, Supreme Court says

Manufacturers seek clarity ahead of festive season

Firecracker manufacturers and retailers, represented through senior counsel K Parameshwar and Pranav Sachdeva, among others, had approached the court citing urgency, pointing out that formulations approved by the Centre would need to be manufactured, distributed and sold ahead of Dussehra and Diwali. That timetable leaves little room for the verification systems that the Delhi hearings showed were missing.

The pan-India proceedings also intersect with a separate case concerning restrictions on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR pending before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The court noted that the issues in the two proceedings overlap and permitted the parties to approach the CJI for their possible hearing together.

In September 2025, the Commission for Air Quality Management told the court that licensed producers had sold QR codes, meant to identify genuine green crackers, to unregistered manufacturers, and that no mechanism existed to verify whether products in the market met emission standards.

Senior advocate Uttara Babbar, then assisting the court as amicus curiae, pointed out that PESO had no testing facilities in Delhi.

In 2018 and 2019, when limited use of green crackers was allowed in the Capital, police and local officials failed to tell them apart from conventional ones.

- ABOUT THE AUTHORUtkarsh AnandUtkarsh Anand is the National Legal Editor at Hindustan Times, where he leads the newspaper's coverage of the Supreme Court, constitutional law, the judiciary and the Union law ministry. He joined Hindustan Times in 2020 after stints at Press Trust of India (PTI), The Indian Express and CNN-News18, and has over two decades of experience reporting on law, governance and public policy. His work has focussed on some of India's most consequential constitutional and legal developments, including the Supreme Court's judgments on Article 370, marriage equality, decriminalisation of homosexuality, the Babri Masjid dispute, electoral reforms and judicial appointments. He specialises in making complex legal proceedings and judgments accessible to readers while examining their wider social and political impact. Beyond daily reportage, Utkarsh has led investigative projects and enterprise reporting that have shaped public debate and prompted institutional responses. His work has received several journalism awards, including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. As National Legal Editor, he has also played a key role in expanding Hindustan Times' legal journalism footprint, mentoring reporters and strengthening coverage across platforms. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow, Utkarsh regularly writes analyses on the judiciary and constitutional issues, and his reporting is widely followed by lawyers, judges, policymakers, academics and readers seeking clarity on India's evolving legal landscape.Read More

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