Supreme Court permits certified green crackers in Delhi-NCR on 7 and 8 November, ahead of Dīpāvalī
The order recognises the festival's religious and emotional meaning while limiting bursting to two daily windows, with the full ban returning on 9 November.
- Bar and Bench
- News18
The Supreme Court has allowed approved green crackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region for a limited period around Dīpāvalī. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale permitted bursting between 6 am and 7 am and between 8 pm and 10 pm on 7 and 8 November.
Cancelled traders' licences are restored from 4 to 6 November for the sale of approved crackers. Only products approved by CSIR-NEERI may be sold, in sealed boxes carrying QR codes.
Crackers joined in series, barium-based crackers and online sales are not allowed. No bursting is allowed within 300 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, old-age homes, educational institutions and notified silence zones.
Bar and Bench reports that the bench chose regulation because authorities had not given adequate data on whether the ban works. The bench said Deepawali has a religious, social, psychological and emotional connotation that creates an atmosphere of hope and prosperity.
It also said that the right to a religious practice is subject to public order, morality and health under Article 25(1), and noted that thinkers of ancient India treated the environment as integral to religion. In Tamil Nadu, the Pollution Control Board has separately said crackers may be burst from 6 am to 7 am and 7 pm to 8 pm on Deepavali.
Key data
Bursting allowed on 7 and 8 November, 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm; manufacture allowed 2 to 6 November; sale 4 to 6 November; 300 metre no-cracker radius; ban resumes 9 November; compliance and air-quality reports due by 14 December; Delhi AQI 312 at 9 am on 2 November.
Why it matters
Families in Delhi-NCR now have clear legal hours for the festival, and the conditions apply to manufacturers and sellers as well as households. The court's data requests mean this year's Dīpāvalī will feed directly into how the question is decided next year.
GK: did you know?
Dīpāvalī comes from the Sanskrit dīpa (lamp) and āvalī (row), meaning a row of lamps. CSIR-NEERI, the institute that approves green crackers, is headquartered in Nagpur.
