The Supreme Court on Friday (October 10, 2025) reserved its decision in the matter of lifting the ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. The court has indicated that the use of green firecrackers can be allowed. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Delhi government, recommended the use of green firecrackers and said that children should be allowed to celebrate. He also urged the court not to impose any time limit for bursting firecrackers.
According to Bar and Bench report, a bench of Chief Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing the case. During the hearing, firecracker manufacturers objected to the ban and said that it is wrong to target only firecrackers by ignoring stubble and vehicle pollution. During this, SG Tushar Mehta said in a light-hearted manner, ‘It takes an hour for children to convince their parents to accompany them to burst crackers, hence, there should not be any time limit on the festival.’
There should be no time limit for children, said SG Tushar Mehta
SG Mehta requested the court that there should not be any time limit for bursting crackers for a few days on Diwali. He said that children should be allowed to burn crackers for at least two days. He told CJI Gavai, ‘The child inside me is trying to convince the child inside you on this.’ CJI BR Gavai, on the request of SG Tushar Mehta, said that two hours would be enough… then he said that he will see.
SG Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Delhi government, gave some suggestions in the court and said that only those producers should be allowed to sell green firecrackers, who are certified by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organization (PESO). He has also suggested to continue the ban on the manufacture and sale of stringed firecrackers. SG Mehta suggested setting the time limit for bursting crackers from 8 pm to 10 pm, but later he said that his suggestion should not be accepted.
CJI Gavai asked- Did the ban on firecrackers improve AQI?
CJI Gavai has also asked whether there has been some improvement in the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi-NCR after the ban on firecrackers in 2018. SG Mehta said that there has been no significant difference in it. A decrease was seen only at the time of Corona, but there were other reasons for it.