Supreme Court declines to ban Diwali firecrackers: "We will not hurt religious sentiments"
A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, hearing the suo motu Delhi-NCR pollution case, said it would not pass a restrictive order.
- ETV Bharat
A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, hearing the suo motu Delhi-NCR pollution case, said it would not pass a restrictive order. It suggested awareness campaigns, fixed hours for celebrations and limits only on highly polluting crackers, and urged people to return to lamps.
Justice Bagchi asked, "What is religious about bursting of crackers?" The amicus suggested referring the issue to CAQM.
Key data
No ban order. The green-cracker regime continues. Next hearing 15 Oct.
Why it matters
The court is choosing persuasion over prohibition, which defuses the annual festival-versus-ban clash for now, though the bench's remarks on religion will keep the debate going.
GK: did you know?
Dīpāvalī comes from dīpa (lamp) and āvali (row), meaning "a row of lamps".
