NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was not inclined to completely ban firecrackers, but questioned the authorities’ failure to enforce its orders on the ground, noting that the same petitions and orders return every Diwali.
The court said it had been passing orders on firecrackers for years, but implementation remained inadequate.
"There is no point in passing orders and directions every year unless the authorities implement them on the ground," the Court said.
Questioning the Union and Delhi authorities over their failure to submit enforcement data after last year’s temporary relaxation of the firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR, the court said it was not inclined to impose a complete ban but warned against pushing it to take a tougher stand.
"Did you form teams? Did you make an inquiry? Did you make any search of the licence holders? What did you find? How many FIRs have you filed? How many other cases have you filed? Did you seize the material? What did you actually do? See now otherwise there is no point in passing orders and issuing all these directions unless on ground you really give effect to it. It becomes a mere mockery then. Enforcement data has not been filed. That is something you ought to have filed. Unless whatever the order passed, the implementing mechanism is put into operation, it's not going to have any effect at all", said Justice M M Sundresh, who was leading the Bench.
The court observed that its orders become "a mere mockery" when they are not implemented on the ground. "It concerns every living being," the Bench said while hearing the matter concerning firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region.
The court said a complete ban could affect the industry and livelihoods and might not be practical. However, it stressed that the authorities must ensure compliance with its directions on green crackers and time limits.
The Bench said only green crackers, which are less polluting, should be allowed and that banned crackers must be seized. It also said the police must enforce restrictions on the timing of firecracker use.
The court noted that air quality worsens every year after Diwali, while the judiciary faces criticism, even though enforcement is the executive’s responsibility. It said authorities must take responsibility and implement its orders in letter and spirit.
The court said it would pass an order within a couple of days and hoped the authorities would file an affidavit detailing the measures taken, difficulties encountered in implementation and steps needed to improve enforcement.
