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The Delhi High Court has today said that it was not inclined to issued notice today in a petition seeking directions to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government to modify its decision of a total ban on the sale, storage, and bursting of all kinds of crackers during Diwali, 2021.

A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said that it would like to see what transpires in a similar matter pending before the Supreme Court that would be heard today.

With this view, the High Court has posted the matter for 22nd October.

The instant petition filed by Rahul Sanwariya and Tanveer through Advocates Gautam Jha, Pankaj Kumar and Shweta Jha states that the decision to ban all kinds of crackers one and a half months before the Diwali festival is not just arbitrary, unreasonable, but also excessive - insofar as it hurts the sentiments of a million people who celebrate the festival by bursting crackers.

The petition states that the action of the   government must be “no more intrusive than is necessary to meet an important public purpose”. 

While the order dated Sep 15, 2021 banning firecrackers states its objective to be curbing pollution in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, the plea argues that the extent of government interference in the issue of firecrackers is disproportionate, and calls for Graded Regulations rather than a complete ban.

Referring to a report prepared by the National Clean Air Programme under the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change on the issue of Air Pollution, the petitioners have also highlighted that the bursting of fire crackers is not amongst the major sources of air pollution in the capital, yet, the petition says, no such total ban is imposed on other activities as “taking such decision would be politically difficult or unpopular or may not be as news worthy..."

Case Title: Rahul Sanwariya and Anr vs State of NCT of Delhi