IndiaPosted at: Nov 6 2026 9:18PM


Make clean air, cracker-free Diwali a people’s movement; Repeated court orders may invite more violations: SC

Parmod Kumar

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Friday said efforts to ensure clean air during Diwali and other festivals must develop into a “people’s movement”, observing that pollution during such celebrations cannot be controlled merely through judicial orders and police enforcement.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana asked the Delhi government and other authorities to involve local municipal councillors in persuading residents not to burst polluting firecrackers during the upcoming Diwali.

The bench observed that repeated judicial intervention could itself have limitations, with increasing orders sometimes being accompanied by greater non-compliance.
The Chief Justice suggested that local representatives should appeal directly to people to celebrate Diwali in a manner that does not add to pollution and help turn the clean-air effort into a public movement.

The observations came during the hearing of In Re: Curbing Air Pollution in the National Capital Region — Regulatory and Policy Framework, Air Quality Governance and Other Ancillary Issues, concerning worsening air pollution in Delhi-NCR ahead of winter.

During the proceedings, the Amicus Curiae Aparajita Singh underlined the practical limitations of physical policing, pointing out that the State “cannot have one police officer in every house”.

Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Aparajita Singh, flagged enforcement concerns on the ground. She said some vendors were taking advantage of permissions for green crackers by displaying green-cracker boxes at kiosks while allegedly selling prohibited conventional firecrackers from inside their shops.

Singh also referred to a 2012 Central Pollution Control Board study on ambient air quality and respiratory health among Delhi schoolchildren, which, according to her, found reduced lung function in 43.5 percent of children surveyed in the capital compared with children outside Delhi.

Another lawyer urged the bench to recalibrate the Graded Response Action Plan so that restrictions concerning schools could operate independently and protective measures could be triggered at an earlier stage of deteriorating air quality.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati agreed on the need for stronger public-awareness campaigns and placed before the court a sector-wise compliance chart prepared from NCR States dealing with construction dust, municipal waste burning, vehicular emissions and industrial pollution.

The Amicus Curiae Aparajita Singh submitted that States often responded more promptly when the Supreme Court directly sought compliance reports or called upon senior officials to explain implementation. She said detailed notes separately dealing with airshed management, vehicular pollution and industrial emissions had been prepared for a fuller hearing.

Taking the reports and compliance charts on record, the bench indicated that it would issue appropriate directions seeking further updates from the concerned authorities and take up the matter for detailed consideration after the Diwali break.
UNI XC RN
Tags: #Make clean air# cracker-free Diwali a people’s movement; Repeated court orders may invite more violations: SC
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Parmod Kumar

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