Overview

• A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai called a blanket ban neither practical nor ideal and reserved its decision in the long-running MC Mehta air pollution case.
• The court orally indicated it could temporarily lift the ban during Diwali to permit only NEERI/PESO-approved green crackers within set time windows, with specifics to be set out in the written order.
• Solicitor General Tushar Mehta proposed a two-hour window on Diwali (8–10 pm), short late-night slots on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and one-hour windows for Gurpurab, with joint ‘lari’ crackers prohibited.
• The enforcement plan under discussion includes sales only through licensed traders, a bar on e-commerce platforms, QR-coded product tracking, periodic inspections and random sampling, and tough penalties for violations.
• The amicus and air-quality experts warned of ‘fake’ green crackers and limited testing capacity, manufacturers stressed livelihoods and prior investments, and the bench noted it may revisit the 2018 Arjun Gopal framework.