The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the sale and bursting of firecrackers will be permitted in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) for five days during Diwali.
The move marks what could be the Capital’s first festival season with legal fireworks in years, despite concerns from environmental experts and amicus curiae about enforcement gaps.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran reserved its order after the Union government proposed a tightly regulated framework permitting only “green firecrackers” approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
“For the time being, we will allow it during the five days of Diwali on a trial basis… However, we will confine it to certain time limits,” the bench stated.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted a detailed enforcement plan, restricting sales to licensed traders and barring online platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon from facilitating firecracker sales in Delhi-NCR.
Traditional crackers will remain banned, the government added, while seeking that the relaxation extend to all festivals.
The government proposed strict time windows: 8pm to 10pm on Diwali and other major festivals, 11.55pm to 12.30am on New Year’s Eve, and one-hour slots in the morning and evening for Gurpurab. Firecrackers could also be used for weddings and personal occasions.
Mehta requested the court to relax Diwali timings, arguing that children should not be limited to two hours of celebration.
Experts have repeatedly raised alarm over the move, citing the two-year period between 2018 and 2020 when a similar policy for green firecrackers yielded no reduction in air pollution.
Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. While regional air pollution is influenced by weather, wind, and stubble burning in Punjab, fireworks — even green crackers cause temporary spikes in pollution.
Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at think-tank Envirocatalysts, warned that bursting green firecrackers could set back the fight against air pollution in Delhi by a decade. “We need to control all sources of pollution at the source, including episodic events such as firecracker bursting — which lead to a spike in air pollution,” he said.
Senior advocate Uttara Babbar, assisting the court as amicus curiae, criticised the government’s enforcement plan as “lip service,” noting that the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) has no testing facilities in Delhi to verify products in the market.
Green firecrackers replace barium nitrate with zeolites, reduce aluminium content, and add dust suppressants, cutting emissions by 30-35 per cent compared to conventional crackers, according to NEERI.
Experts, however, warn that widespread use could negate any benefits. Mukesh Khare, an air pollution expert from IIT Delhi, said that even if only green crackers were used, the sheer volume could spike pollution levels.
The court’s reversal comes months after another bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka reaffirmed Delhi’s firecracker ban, extended to NCR states in April. The CJI-led bench questioned whether air quality had improved sufficiently between 2018 and 2024 to justify the earlier order.
Data from last year shows severe spikes in fine particulate matter during Diwali. Monitoring stations recorded levels exceeding 1,500 micrograms per cubic metre, far above the World Health Organisation’s safe limit of 15µg/m³.
The Centre’s enforcement plan requires manufacturers to submit product-specific QR codes to PESO and state pollution control boards, maintain sales and production records, and conduct regular emissions testing.
Also Read : SC reserves decision on use of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR
PESO and state authorities will conduct surprise inspections, with penalties including licence suspension and closure for violations.
Public awareness campaigns will educate citizens about approved crackers and health hazards, with platforms such as the Sameer App and Green Delhi App allowing grievance redressal.
NEERI and PESO will maintain updated lists of approved crackers, and CSIR-NEERI will continue research on lower-emission products.
Authorities will also carry out source apportionment studies to gauge fireworks’ contribution to Delhi’s air pollution, with continuous monitoring by the Central Pollution Control Board and local boards.
The court suggested random sampling, acknowledging that testing facilities could not be established overnight, and highlighted the plight of firecracker industry workers, many from marginalised groups.
Senior advocate K Parameshwar, representing manufacturers, recommended earmarking specific sale points for wholesalers and retailers to ensure compliance could be efficiently verified.
Last month, the court permitted manufacturers holding valid NEERI and PESO certifications to resume production, while prohibiting sales in the NCR, emphasising that a blanket ban without robust enforcement is unsustainable.
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