The
Supreme Court Wednesday refused to interfere with the Delhi government's order
putting a comprehensive ban on manufacture, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers
in the capital city.
BJP
Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari told a bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh
that a complete ban has been imposed on firecrackers despite the court allowing
bursting of green firecrackers.
"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 the
counsel for Tiwari.
The
counsel said his client being an MP was responsible towards his constituents
and the court has itself allowed bursting of green firecrackers.
"You
should make the people understand that they should not burst firecrackers. Even
you should not burst firecrackers during victory processions after elections.
There are other ways of celebrating the victory," the bench told Tiwari,
who is an MP from North East Delhi.
On
September 11, to combat high pollution levels during winter months, Delhi's
Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced a comprehensive ban on the
manufacture, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national
capital.
The sweeping directive that includes prohibition of
online sale of firecrackers comes ahead of the festival season. A similar
blanket ban was imposed during the last two years. However, there were reports
of people bursting firecrackers during Diwali festivities.