PolicyEnvironment
'What does religion have to do with firecrackers?' Supreme Court weighs festive curbs
The Chief Justice said the court would not hurt religious sentiments and favoured awareness over bans. Suggestions go to the air quality commission and the case returns on 15 October.
Key points
- Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the religious argument for bursting crackers.
- Chief Justice Surya Kant favoured limited hours and safer crackers over coercive orders.
- Suggestions will go to the Commission for Air Quality Management; the case is back on 15 October.
The Supreme Court on Monday began weighing how far to restrict firecrackers in the Delhi region this festive season, with one judge questioning the religious case for them and the Chief Justice saying the court would not hurt religious sentiments.
“What does religion have to do with firecrackers?” Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked during the hearing of the court’s own case on air pollution in the National Capital Region. He asked what pollution levels would follow if a given quantity of crackers were burst in a set period.
The amicus and the traders
Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as amicus curiae, said the religious argument came up every year. “Gods would be aghast if they knew that children were suffering and getting sick in their name,” she said. “Year after year, we see the same playbook getting repeated.” Time limits of one or two hours “sound nice” but were not enforced, she said, and asked the court to refer the issue to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM).
Senior Advocate J. Sai Deepak, for a federation of fireworks traders, pointed to the ban already in place. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said that in Delhi, crackers had been allowed on two days within fixed hours.
Awareness over orders
Chief Justice Surya Kant said restrictive orders were often seen as coercive and that the better course was for people to reflect and be made aware. He suggested publicising which crackers are harmful, asking people to keep bursting to certain hours, making sure only certain kinds of crackers reach the market and restricting the sale of harmful ones. He also encouraged people to light only diyas.
The bench, which also included Justice V. Mohana, directed that suggestions be sent to the CAQM and posted the matter for 15 October.