Supreme Court green cracker window in Delhi-NCR closes as complete firecracker ban returns
Certified green crackers were allowed on 7 and 8 November 2026 in two daily slots. The complete ban resumed on 9 November. Article 21, the Explosives Act, the 2018 Arjun Gopal judgment and the penalties explained.
The Supreme Court's two-day opening for certified green crackers in Delhi-NCR has closed. From Monday, 9 November 2026, the complete year-round ban on all firecrackers, green ones included, is back in force across the region.
The restriction comes from an order passed ahead of Diwali by a bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale in Arjun Gopal v. Union of India. It allowed only green crackers approved by CSIR-NEERI to be burst, and only on 7 and 8 November 2026.
Bursting was limited to two slots each day, from 6 am to 7 am and from 8 pm to 10 pm. The order also regulates manufacture, sale and enforcement in the days on either side of those dates.
What the order allowed, and for how long
Manufacture was open from 2 to 6 November 2026, and only to manufacturers holding valid CSIR-NEERI and PESO certification, for products listed by CSIR-NEERI. Trader licences that had been cancelled under the earlier ban were temporarily restored from 4 to 6 November, to sell approved green crackers alone.
Sales were confined to locations designated by District Collectors or Commissioners with the District Superintendents of Police. Sale anywhere else, including online, was prohibited. The order says the complete ban "shall stand restored with effect from 9 November 2026".
Safeguards against conventional crackers sold as green
The bench recorded that during the earlier ban conventional crackers were still sold under the green label. It treated weak implementation, rather than the ban itself, as the reason the earlier restrictions fell short, and said it lacked enough data to show a complete ban was the most effective remedy.
Each box had to be sealed and carry a product-specific, non-transferable QR code showing the manufacturer, the NEERI registration, the PESO or district magistrate licence, the formulation and the test certificate. Series crackers (ladis), garlands, barium-based crackers and any cracker not approved by CSIR-NEERI stayed banned.
Police were told to set up patrol teams at sale sites, check vehicles entering Delhi-NCR, seize conventional crackers and verify QR codes at random. Manufacturers and traders had to furnish monetary security, which is forfeited on any violation.
No bursting near hospitals and schools
No bursting is permitted within 300 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health centres, old-age homes, educational institutions and notified silence zones. These areas were to be marked on the ground as No-Cracker Zones and published.
The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Boards must report air quality daily for 2 to 6 November, for 7 and 8 November, and for 9 to 30 November. The bench said the compliance affidavits would be examined on 16 December 2026, and officials who fail to comply face "strict action for contempt".
Clean air under Articles 21 and 25
The bench held that the right to a healthy, safe and pollution-free environment is part of Article 21. It also said that a religious practice is only a qualified one and cannot go beyond constitutional restrictions, since Article 25(1) is subject to public order, morality and health.
On Deepawali, the court observed that "the celebration of Deepawali has a religious, social, psychological and emotional connotation amongst people". It added that allowing the environment to degrade into a health hazard would defeat the purpose of the festival.
Laxmikanth, in Indian Polity, lists the right to a decent environment, including pollution-free water and air, among the rights read into Article 21. Anup Surendranath, in the Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, cites Virender Gaur v. State of Haryana (1995) and Re Noise Pollution (V) (2005) for the right to a clean environment.
How the ban came to be year-round
Delhi imposed a complete year-round ban on firecrackers from 1 January 2025, and Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were told to follow in their NCR districts. The Court extended the ban on 17 January 2025, and on 3 April 2025 said it would reconsider only on scientific evidence that the pollution was minimal.
On 26 September 2025 it allowed certified manufacturers to make green crackers, and on 15 October 2025 it permitted a trial relaxation on sales. The States did not fully comply with it.
From the 2016 suspension to the 2018 judgment
The case began as Writ Petition (Civil) No. 728 of 2015, filed on behalf of three infants through their fathers. After Diwali 2016 took Delhi's air pollution to about 29 times the WHO standard, the Court on 11 November 2016 directed the Centre to suspend fireworks licences in the NCR.
It relied on Rule 118 of the Explosives Rules, 2008, which lets the Centre suspend or cancel a licence in public interest. On 12 September 2017 the Court lifted the suspension of permanent licences and cut temporary licences by about half, and its judgment of 23 October 2018, by Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, set the regime that followed.
What the 2018 judgment fixed
Only improved and green crackers could be made and sold, and only through licensed traders. Joined crackers (laris) and barium salts were banned, e-commerce platforms were barred from taking orders, and bursting on Diwali was confined to 8 pm to 10 pm.
The Station House Officer of an area where a violation was found would be personally liable, which the Court said would amount to contempt. On Article 25, the bench held that a practice which threatens health and lives is not entitled to protection, and that Article 25 is subject to Article 21.
The Court called the discussion on Articles 19(1)(g) and 25 prima facie and non-conclusive, and left the door open to stricter measures. The 2005 night restriction in Re Noise Pollution (V), which bans bursting of sound-emitting crackers between 10 pm and 6 am, was kept in force.
The statutes behind the trade
Fireworks are explosives under the Explosives Act, 1884, and making, storing or selling them needs a licence under the Explosives Rules, 2008. Section 9B(1)(b) of the Act punishes possessing, using, selling or transporting an explosive in breach of the rules or licence conditions with imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to Rs 3,000, or both.
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and the Air Act, 1981 supply pollution-control powers. Since the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, breach of directions under the 1986 Act, where no other penalty is provided, draws a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh, set by an adjudicating officer and appealable to the National Green Tribunal within 60 days.
What breaking the ban can mean
For traders and manufacturers the order itself carries forfeiture of security, cancellation of licences and prosecution. For officials it carries contempt.
For anyone else, the court's own power is contempt. Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 allows simple imprisonment up to six months, a fine up to Rs 2,000, or both.
Police can also act on a lawful prohibitory order of a public servant under section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Where disobedience causes obstruction, annoyance or injury, it carries up to six months or a fine up to Rs 2,500, and where it endangers life, health or safety, up to one year or Rs 5,000.
States in Delhi-NCR must file compliance affidavits by 14 December 2026, covering security deposits, sale locations, prosecutions and air quality data for 2 to 30 November. They must also state the rise in patient admissions at hospitals and health centres linked to bursting up to 30 November. The applications are listed for 16 December 2026.