The Supreme Court has asked the Central Pollution Control Board to respond to the query of whether a partial relaxation with respect to certain types of crackers may be possible, with specific reference to noise.

The Court was hearing an Application in a writ petition which was filed in 2015, on behalf of three infants seeking a blanket ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR), citing deteriorating air quality.

Pursuant to this, the Court passed several interim orders in the matter. In 2018, the Court passed orders and banned barium salts in fireworks, banned the manufacture, sale and use of joined firecrackers (series crackers or laris) as the same causes huge air, noise and solid waste problems.

The Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale ordered, "Learned ASG is directed to get instructions from the Central Pollution Control Board on the query of the Court as to whether a partial relaxation with respect to certain types of crackers may be possible, with specific reference to noise."


Senior Advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Haripriya Padmanabhan appeared for the Applicants, while ASG Aishwarya Bhati and ASG Archana Pathak Dave appeared for the Respondents.

The Court had previously also raised questions over the selective imposition of the ban on firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region). On October 15, 2025, the Court had allowed the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for the festival of Diwali.

In September 2023, the Supreme Court had rejected two applications whereby the Firecracker manufacturers sought permission to manufacture firecrackers with new, improved formulations with barium plus additives, and joined firecrackers (series crackers or laris).

The Court, while reserving the judgment in the matter, had directed the Delhi Police not to issue temporary licenses for sale and storage of any kind of firecrackers, saying that it would be difficult to segregate a green from a non-green firecracker.

Observing that regulations become a "mockery" if not implemented, the Supreme Court had also asked the Centre and regulatory bodies like the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to apprise it of measures taken to strengthen the protocols to ban production and sale of non-green firecrackers across the country.

In a 2021 order, the Court had noted that considering the matter pertained to public interest and that it affects the health of innocent citizens including senior citizens and children, it is the duty of all the States to ensure implementation of the Court’s directions. It was further noted that any lapse on the part of the State Governments or Agencies and Union Territories will be viewed very seriously.

In case of a breach, the Chief Secretary of the concerned State(s), the Secretary (Homes) of the concerned State(s) and the Commissioner of Police of the concerned area, District Superintendent of Police of the concerned area and the SHO/Police Officer in-charge of the concerned police station shall be held personally liable.

An application had also been filed in 2021 to bring on record the tests done by ‘Awaaz Foundation’ alleging that the banned firecrackers are being manufactured, used and sold though they are specifically banned by the Apex Court. It further alleged that ‘green crackers’ are being sold in the market by fireworks manufacturers containing chemicals that have been banned by this Court and not only that but even the fake QR codes are printed on the boxes and mislabelling them as ‘green crackers’.

Cause Title: Arjun Gopal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [IA No. 325852/2025 in Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 728/2015]

Appearances:

Applicants: Sr. Adv. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Sr. Adv. Haripriya Padmanabhan, AOR Pooja Dhar, Adv. Amit Bhandari, Adv. Vishal Sinha, Adv. Trisha Chandran, Adv. Ayushman Agrawal, Adv. Tushar Srivastava, Adv. Pradyut Kashyap, Adv. Joel James.

Respondents: A.S.G. Aishwarya Bhati, A.S.G. Archana Pathak Dave, Sr. Adv. V Chitambaresh, Sr. Adv. S Guru Krishnakumar, Sr. Adv. Jayanth Muth Raj, Sr. Adv. Shirin Khajuria, A.A.G. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G. Vaibhav Srivastava and others.

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