NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused an urgent hearing of a plea filed by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari seeking to lift the blanket ban imposed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on firecrackers. “Let people breathe clean air. Spend your money on sweets,” said a bench of judges M R Shah and M M Sundresh.
Responding to the court’s remark, the counsel for Tiwari argued that air pollution was also due to stubble burning. However, the bench turned down the plea and said it would hear the matter later.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court had turned down a separate petition challenging the pollution body’s September 14 direction for a complete ban on the manufacturing, storage, sale and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers till January 1, 2023 in the national capital. Justice Yashwant Verma had said it would not be appropriate for the HC to consider the issue when the same was pending before the top court.
Last year, the SC banned some crackers found to be injurious to health while making it clear there was no blanket ban on firecrackers.