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Madras HC bans online sale of crackers till a week after Diwali
In his petition filed last month, M Shaik Abdullah, a member of the Chennai Metro Fireworks Dealers Association sought restraint of online sale of fireworks and crackers by retailers as this was illegal and also raised safety concerns
With Diwali on the horizon, the Madras High Court on Tuesday banned the online sale of firecrackers till November 15, on a petition by a fireworks trader, who alleged this was illegal and also raised safety concerns.
Justice S Vaidyanathan, who passed the interim order, also issued notice to the deputy chief controller of explosives and the Chennai police commissioner as well as the city’s municipal commissioner.
Diwali comes in the first week of November and the ban would last a week after the festival of lights.
In his petition filed last month, M Shaik Abdullah, a member of the Chennai Metro Fireworks Dealers Association sought restraint of online sale of fireworks and crackers by retailers.
He submitted that the association was committed to support the fireworks cottage industry in and around the state’s Sivakasi and its members were selling only the products of the cottage industry. But, due to the “lethargic attitude” of the deputy chief controller of explosives, several traders were engaged in the sale of crackers online, which is illegal, he added.
Arguing that sale of crackers and fireworks through online was illegal, Abdullah said this also helped the dumping of Chinese crackers, posing a threat to public safety.
