Supreme Court upholds the NGT ban on Firecrackers in areas with poor AQI

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed all the appeals challenging the National Green Tribunal’s order that had imposed a complete ban on the sale and use of all firecrackers during the Covid 19 pandemic. As per the NGT order, firecrackers were prohibited in NCR and other cities in India wherein the Air Quality Index (AQI) was poor.

Stating that authorities may permit the sale and use of firecrackers as per the category of AQI, a Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna ordered that the same was addressed in the NGT’s order and no further clarification or deliberation was required.

“Grievance was expressed that manufacturing activities will also be prohibited in the concerned area if the Air Quality falls. The impeached order does not deal with that situation. If the situation is covered by general directions of the Supreme Court, it must be followed in letter and spirit. In other words, these appeals are devoid of merit and are dismissed”, directed the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate PS Narasimha said in Friday’s hearing submitted before the Supreme Court that the NGT Order deviated from the judgment of the Top Court. The Bench, however, informed Narasimha that the Tribunal had analyzed the same and had adopted a moderate approach. “When they have said that it is green, what is wrong with that? This is restricted to Covid times. These are reasonable. They take care. It’s not like a blanket ban has been imposed. Tribunal has said that when it is clear, there is no question. This is not a total ban. There is a misreading of the judgment. Please remove this notion from your head, production is on”, stated the Bench.

The Court stated that production was allowed, and those who wanted to use firecrackers could do so with permission. Taking into account that a clarification should be issued regarding the usage of firecrackers in case of a shift in air quality, the Court noted that the observation was an obvious import of the paragraph in the NGT Order and that sale of green crackers would be allowed in case of shift.

In December 2020, a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice AK Goel had directed for the prohibition in the use of firecrackers in areas wherein the AQI was poor in wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. It had further directed that only green crackers could be used during Christmas and New Year for a specified time. District Magistrates had been directed to ensure that firecrackers that had been banned would not be sold and were given the authority to recover compensation in cases of violations.