Lawyers can work from home, we can’t: Supreme Court judge on post-Diwali air in Delhi

The issue of pollution in Delhi is being monitored by the Supreme Court in a suo motu proceeding arising from a petition filed by advocate MC Mehta.

Supreme Court justice Vikram Nath, in a light-hearted exchange with a senior counsel on Wednesday, remarked that “the air in Delhi will be very bad post-Diwali”, in response to the advocate’s request to adjourn a hearing in an unrelated matter to November 17.

A thick layer of smog blankets the New Link Road bridge in Ghaziabad on Wednesday morning, amid poor air quality in the Delhi-NCR region. (Sakib Ali/ HT Photo/ Representational)

During a virtual hearing, senior advocate Indira Jaising requested the apex court to list the matter on November 17, prompting the conversation to turn to the Capital’s pollution levels around Diwali.

“Post Diwali, the air in Delhi will be very bad... You come before Diwali, the environment would be cleaner. After Diwali, it will be worse,” justice Nath said. He offered November 3 as an alternative date.

Jaising responded that pollution levels would be poor even before Diwali. “Diwali is an extremely polluted time in Delhi. Please have the matter on November 17... Your lordships already have to suffer the bad air,” she said.

As Jaising was appearing virtually before the court, justice Nath said: “You have the privilege of sitting at home and saving yourselves from the pollution. But we can’t sit at home.”

The issue of pollution in Delhi is being monitored by the Supreme Court in a suo motu proceeding arising from a petition filed by advocate MC Mehta. Along with this, in 2015, a petition was filed by three toddlers seeking a complete ban on firecrackers owing to the detrimental effect on children, the aged and sick persons.

Both these matters are listed before a bench headed by justice MM Sundresh on Thursday. Under orders passed in the MC Mehta petition, there is a ban on bursting, sale and distribution of firecrackers in Delhi, extending further to the National Capital Region. Last year, a window was provided by the court for sale and bursting of crackers during Diwali to strike a balance between the right to health of citizens and festive celebrations.

This year too, fireworks retailers have requested the court for a similar arrangement demanding that under monitoring of the court, specified dates could be allotted for sale of firecrackers and regulated bursting. This issue will be decided on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the court indicated that banning firecrackers needs a “practical and pragmatic” approach. It emphasised that religious sentiments cannot be hurt and at the same time, the health of citizens must be taken into consideration by promoting the use of green crackers that are less harmful to public health.

While striking this middle path, the Centre has submitted formulations of improved firecrackers, having less emission, by involving experts from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Experts are presently undertaking studies on the reduced use of barium in firecrackers, for which open-ground testing is being conducted across multiple places in the country.