The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that Delhi could witness Diwali celebrations with firecrackers this year, as it agreed to consider lifting the existing ban for a limited five-day period. A bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said it would issue an order shortly, noting that the relaxation would apply on a trial basis.
“For the time being, we will permit the ban lifting during Diwali,” the bench observed during the hearing.
The development comes amid renewed debate over the capital’s worsening air quality during the festival season, which coincides with large-scale stubble burning in neighboring states.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the court to allow limited use of firecrackers, arguing that the festival should not be entirely stripped of its celebratory spirit. “It is a matter of a few days on Diwali. Let children celebrate Diwali with fervour,” Mehta said.
The court agreed in principle to a temporary relaxation, though it emphasized that any such permission must come with strict time restrictions. As per the government’s proposal, firecrackers could be allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali and similar festivals, between 11.55 pm and 12.30 am on New Year’s Eve, and during one-hour slots in the morning and evening for Gurpurab. Controlled use at weddings and private events may also be permitted.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as Amicus Curiae, raised concerns about the circulation of counterfeit “green crackers,” noting that many products sold under that label still contained banned chemicals. The bench also asked whether Delhi’s air quality index had improved since 2018, when the initial restrictions were imposed.
Environmental experts have voiced apprehension over the court’s decision. They argue that earlier experiments with so-called green crackers, between 2018 and 2020, showed no measurable reduction in pollution levels. In practice, they said, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between environmentally compliant and regular firecrackers.
According to Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at the environmental think tank Envirocatalysts, even limited use of firecrackers could reverse years of progress in improving air quality. “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. Dahiya warned that if meteorological conditions were unfavorable, the resulting pollution could linger for several days.
He further emphasized that tackling Delhi’s air crisis requires a long-term, multi-pronged approach targeting stubble burning, vehicle emissions, power generation, industrial waste, and construction dust. “Temporary relaxations may
