This is a temporary regulatory order, not a final decision on whether a complete ban on firecrackers is the right solution. The complete ban stands restored from 9 November 2026, and the Court will monitor implementation through compliance reports and a further hearing on 16 December 2026.
- Case
- Arjun Gopal v. Union of India
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Decision
- Citation
- 2026 INSC 1181
- Bench
- M.M. Sundresh; Prasanna B. Varale
- Case numbers
- W.P.(C) 728/2015; SMW(C) 15/2026
- Outcome
- Reportable order dated 29 October 2026 in I.A. Nos. 245432, 251493, 245387, 264010, 325852/2025 and 103495/2026 in W.P.(C) 728/2015 (with SMW(C) 15/2026) permitting the regulated manufacture, sale and bursting of certified green crackers in Delhi-NCR for 7 and 8 November 2026.
The decision
The Supreme Court has permitted the manufacture, sale and bursting of certified green crackers in Delhi-NCR on 7 and 8 November 2026, subject to strict conditions, and directed that the complete ban stand restored from 9 November 2026.
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale, by a reportable order dated 29 October 2026, allowed bursting only between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. and between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on those two days. The Court directed the authorities to file compliance reports supported by affidavits on or before 14 December 2026, warning of strict action for contempt on non-compliance, and listed the applications on 16 December 2026.
How the ban came about
On 23 October 2018, the Court in Arjun Gopal v. Union of India struck a balance between competing interests and permitted the manufacture and sale of crackers with reduced emission, known as improved crackers and green crackers. Those directions held the field till 2024, and an application seeking a complete ban was dismissed on 29 October 2021.
In 2024, pursuant to directions in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India, the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi imposed a complete perpetual ban on manufacturing, storage, selling and bursting all kinds of firecrackers, with effect from 1 January 2025. The Court directed Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to impose a similar ban in the parts of those States falling in the National Capital Region, and the ban was extended on 17 January 2025.
On 3 April 2025, the Court observed that reconsideration of the complete ban would not be done unless scientific evidence satisfied it that the pollution caused by green crackers is bare minimum. By an order dated 26 September 2025, noting the lack of effective implementation despite the ban, the Court observed that a balanced approach would be required, and permitted manufacturers with valid certification to manufacture on filing an undertaking. On 15 October 2025 in M.C. Mehta, the Court, as a temporary measure, permitted the sale of green crackers uploaded on the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute's website from 18 to 20 October 2025, only from designated locations, with bursting confined to 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Diwali day and the day before.
Why the Court regulated instead of banning
As Diwali approached, the Delhi Fireworks Shopkeepers Association and the Federation of Fireworks Traders sought restoration of cancelled licences and permission to sell certified green crackers, while the petitioners sought a complete ban. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change sought permission to use further reduced quantities of barium nitrate in formulations tested at Sivakasi and Nagpur, achieving an emission reduction of 45 to 50%.
The Court held that the right to practise, profess and propagate religion under Article 25(1) is subject to public order, morality, health and other provisions of Part III, and that the right to life under Article 21 includes a healthy, safe and pollution-free environment. A practice with a religious colour is therefore only a qualified right and cannot go beyond the constitutional restrictions.
The Court found that the measures undertaken by the authorities had not yielded the desired result, and that the problem lay in implementation. It observed that the complete ban had not improved the air quality index readings, that there was a significant spike in those readings on Dussehra and the following day despite the ban, and that conventional firecrackers continued to be sold under the guise of green crackers. The ban, the Court observed, was not only facilitating the illegal sale of firecrackers but also preventing people from purchasing legitimate green crackers tested at established facilities.
The Court also held that, though a blanket ban seems the ideal solution, it was at this point short of adequate data to decide whether a complete ban would be the best solution, since no significant improvement in air quality readings had been shown. It therefore decided to regulate green firecrackers for a temporary period, rather than maintain the complete ban, so that the States could determine precisely the effects of allowing green crackers on the environment and health and place findings before the Court.
The directions in detail
For bursting, the Court directed that no fireworks be burst within a 300-metre radius of hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health centres, old-age homes and notified silence zones, which are to be declared "No-Cracker Zones"; the same restriction applies to educational institutions.
For manufacturers and traders, only those with valid certification for green crackers from CSIR-NEERI and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation may manufacture, and only the green crackers uploaded on the CSIR-NEERI website, from 2 to 6 November 2026. Boxes must be completely sealed, and each must carry a product-specific QR code showing the manufacturer, NEERI registration, licence, formulation and test certificate; QR codes are non-transferable, and their sale leads to cancellation. There is to be no manufacture or sale of firecrackers joined in series, known as ladis, and no use of firecrackers with barium or not approved by CSIR-NEERI. Cancelled traders' licences are restored temporarily from 4 to 6 November 2026, and are to be cancelled if the directions are flouted.
Manufacturers and traders must furnish a monetary security of a handsome amount, to stand forfeited on any violation. District Collectors and Commissioners, in consultation with the District Superintendent of Police, must identify designated sale locations; sale is strictly prohibited anywhere else, including online. Vehicles entering Delhi-NCR must be checked to stop the flow of illegal and conventional firecrackers, banners must inform the public how to identify approved green crackers and the permitted dates and timings, and patrolling teams must keep vigil, confiscate illegal firecrackers, and initiate prosecutions.
The Central Pollution Control Board, with the State Pollution Control Boards, must monitor air quality and prepare pre-Diwali reports for 2 to 6 November, Diwali reports for 7 and 8 November, and post-Diwali reports for 9 to 30 November, with sand and water samples. Non-functional monitoring stations must be inspected and rectified, solid waste cleared after the festival, the most polluted areas cleansed, the Winter Action Plan 2026 and related action plans published, schoolchildren sensitised, and the directions publicised, including through the Delhi Metro's audio systems.
What this order does not decide
The order is expressly temporary: the relaxation is a test case to generate data on green crackers, and the complete ban returns on 9 November 2026. The Court will monitor implementation, and the compliance affidavits due by 14 December 2026 must cover the security deposits, designated sale locations and vehicle checks, actions against violators, air quality reports, and the impact of bursting on hospital admissions up to 30 November 2026.
BANTHRY ANALYSISFor law students
This order is a study in the difference between banning a practice and regulating it. The Court accepts that bursting firecrackers pollutes and that Article 21 protects a pollution-free environment, yet it refuses a complete ban — not because the ban is wrong in principle, but because the evidence shows the ban is not working: air quality did not improve, and the ban created a black market in conventional crackers passed off as green. The regulatory design is the point to study: time windows, no-cracker zones, QR-coded sealed boxes, designated sale points, monetary security, vehicle checks and dated air quality reports are mechanisms for making a rule enforceable.
READING PROMPTSQuestions for a closer reading
- Why did the Court choose to regulate firecrackers temporarily rather than maintain the complete ban?
- What are the conditions for the manufacture, sale and bursting of green crackers on 7 and 8 November 2026?
- What compliance steps did the Court direct, and what happens if the authorities do not comply?
