Ahead
of the upcoming festive season, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea
seeking the manufacture and use of firecrackers made using barium. The apex
court said it would not interfere with the Delhi government's ban on the use of
firecrackers.
On
September 14, the top court reserved its verdict on a plea seeking a ban on
firecrackers to curb pollution levels, including in the Delhi-NCR region. The
top court had then asked Delhi police not to issue temporary licences to sell
firecrackers in the capital city.
A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh
earlier this month said, "We have to see what level of work has been done
over the years and whether any additional directions are required to be issued.
We see that most of the aspects have been taken care of by various orders
passed by this court from time to time.
When
there is a ban imposed by the government it means complete ban. Just ensure
that no temporary licences are given by the Delhi police. Giving licenses of
any kind will be in violation of our orders," the bench told Additional
Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Centre.
She
said since the 2018 order of the apex court when conventional firecrackers were
banned in the Delhi-NCR region, a lot of work has been done, and only green
firecrackers are allowed.
Bhati
said no permanent licences for the sale of firecrackers had been issued since
2016, and temporary licences issued were for green crackers. "These
licences also get suspended when the government imposes a complete ban," she
said.
Before
that, on September 13, the court refused to interfere with the Delhi
government's order putting a comprehensive ban on the manufacturing, storage,
sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city, saying people's health is
important.
No, we are not going to interfere. Where the
government has banned firecrackers, it means complete ban. People's health is
important. If you want to burst firecrackers, go to states where there is no
ban," the bench told advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha, appearing for BJP Lok
Sabha member Manoj Tiwari.