Green Crackers Allowed in Delhi-NCR on 7-8 November: SC

Green Crackers Allowed in Delhi-NCR for Two Diwali Days; Complete Ban Returns on 9 November: Supreme Court

Published: 2 November 2026 · NyayVidhan

Lacking adequate data on whether the complete firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR has worked, and finding conventional crackers sold as green ones despite it, the Supreme Court has opted for temporary regulation. CSIR-NEERI-certified green crackers may be burst from 6 to 7 A.M. and 8 to 10 P.M. on 7 and 8 November 2026; the complete ban returns from 9 November. Compliance affidavits are due by 14 December, and the applications return on 16 December 2026 (paras 25-29, 33).

Key holdings

Bursting is allowed only from 6 to 7 A.M. and 8 to 10 P.M. on 7 and 8 November 2026, never within 300 metres of hospitals, old-age homes, silence zones or educational institutions (para 29).

Only CSIR-NEERI-listed green crackers in sealed boxes with product-specific QR codes may be made (02.11.2026-06.11.2026) and sold by restored licensees (04.11.2026-06.11.2026) at designated sites; no ladis, Barium or online sales (para 29).

Traders must furnish a security liable to forfeiture; police patrols will check QR codes, confiscate illegal crackers and prosecute offenders (para 29).

The complete ban returns from 09.11.2026; AQI reports and affidavits, including hospital admission figures, are due by 14.12.2026, with contempt warned for non-compliance (para 29).

Judgment digest by NyayVidhan: a summary of the court's judgment, not its text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

The writ petition on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has produced directions since 2018 (para 9). On 23.10.2018 the Court permitted improved and green crackers instead of a ban; after directions in M.C. Mehta, the Delhi Government imposed a complete, year-round ban from 01.01.2025, and Uttar Pradesh and Haryana followed in their NCR areas (paras 10-11). An order of 15.10.2025 allowed green crackers for a few days as a temporary relaxation (paras 14-15). Before Deepawali 2026, traders sought restored licences and permission for CSIR-NEERI-approved green crackers, the Environment Ministry sought approval of reduced-Barium formulations, and the petitioners sought a complete ban (para 17).

Court's Findings

The Court held that the right to practise religion under Article 25(1) is subject to public order, morality and health, and that Article 21 includes the right to a pollution-free environment; a practice with a religious colour is therefore only a qualified right (para 22). Bursting firecrackers certainly causes pollution, and all parties agreed it contributes enormously to pollution in Delhi-NCR (paras 23-24). The measures taken had not yielded the desired result, so the problem lies in implementation, which must continue after the festival, using AQI data from CPCB and DPCC stations and hospital statistics (para 23). On the central question, ban or regulation, the Court said a blanket ban seems the ideal solution but it is short of adequate data, including on whether the 2024 ban served its purpose, as AQI readings showed no significant improvement (para 25). The State had utterly failed to comply with the 2025 directions (para 26). Despite the ban, AQI spiked around Dussehra and conventional crackers were sold as green ones, so the ban was facilitating illegal sales and keeping tested green crackers from buyers (para 27). The Court therefore chose temporary regulation (para 28).

Legal Principle

Engaging in a practice with a religious colour, such as bursting firecrackers, is only a qualified right: Article 25(1) yields to health, and Article 21 includes a pollution-free environment. Without adequate data that a complete ban works, the Court may choose strictly monitored, temporary regulation instead (paras 22, 25, 28).

NyayVidhan's view · Practice note

Why It Matters

This is an interim order: the writ petitions stay pending, and the applications return on 16.12.2026 (paras 30, 33). For manufacturers and traders in Delhi-NCR the window is short and conditional: only CSIR-NEERI-listed green crackers in sealed, QR-coded boxes, sold at designated sites, against a forfeitable security (para 29). Officials must file the listed reports and affidavits by 14.12.2026 or face contempt (para 29). The Court said it lacked adequate data to decide on a complete ban (para 25); the reports it has called for cover AQI, sand and water samples and hospital admissions (para 29). Compare M K Ranjitsinh, recognising a right against the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.

Editorial comment by the NyayVidhan Editorial Desk. It is not part of the Court's judgment and is not legal advice.

Precedents Relied Upon

Arjun Gopal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. W.P. (C.) No. 728/2015
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 10, 12, 29
The Court's order of 23.10.2018 in this writ petition struck a balance between the competing interests by permitting improved and green crackers instead of a ban; the Court took note of that balanced approach when it issued its temporary directions for 2026.
M.C. Mehta v. Union of India & Ors. W.P.(C.) 13029/1985
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 11, 14, 29
Directions of 11.11.2024 in this case led to the complete ban in Delhi; its order of 15.10.2025, extracted by the Court, temporarily permitted green crackers on the 2018 approach, and the Court granted the 2026 bursting permission on the same lines, taking note of that balanced approach.