Supreme Court reserves order on green crackers, pulls up Delhi Police

The ttop court was examining a PIL filed by three minors who said that the ban was being openly flouted in the Capital

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved orders on the sale and manufacture of green firecrackers in the country even as it pulled up the Delhi Police for issuing temporary licences to shopkeepers in Delhi-NCR despite a ban imposed on traditional firecrackers by the court in October 2018.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had expressed concerns over the enforcement of its ban wondering how crackers found their way into the city despite a strict restriction in place. (ANI)

Read here: Firecrackers available in national capital despite ban: Supreme Court

The issue was examined in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by three minors who complained that the ban was openly being flouted even as the firecrackers found their way into the city.

In the same matter, the Centre informed the court about green firecracker formulations prepared by two expert bodies — the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) — and sought the court’s approval for the same.

The Delhi Police, represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, submitted a chart giving details of the action taken from 2016 till August this year against those who sold/stored or even burst firecrackers.

The bench of justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh said, “What is the point in taking action after it happens? There must be a will on your part to find the source where it is coming from.”

Bhati said no permanent licences were issued since 2016 and in the last three years, the Delhi government has imposed a complete ban on all firecrackers.

However, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared for the petitioners, showed evidence that temporary licences were issued to shopkeepers for the sale of crackers as late as September last year.

He also showed evidence from the websites of 10 manufacturers promising to deliver a host of banned crackers available on their websites within 48 hours.

The court told Bhati, “Whether permanent or temporary licence, the effect is the same. As on date, there is a ban on crackers. What is the difference between green or black or any colour when there is a ban in place? It is a violation of our order. Tell them (police) not to issue any licence.”

Read here: Delhi govt bans firecracker sales to curb pollution as part of ‘winter action plan’

Bhati said no system can be foolproof as people would take the law into their own hands but there was an earnest effort on the part of the police to curtail such violations.

On Wednesday, the court had expressed concerns over the enforcement of its ban wondering how crackers found their way into the city despite a strict restriction in place.