India's apex court on Tuesday rejected a plea for a complete ban on firecrackers during the Hindu festival of Deepawali.
Observing that "we tried to strike a balance", the two bench judge of the Supreme Court of India restricted the use of crackers to tackle concerns about deadly pollution in Delhi and other cities in India. The apex court allowed the use of safer firecrackers from 8 pm to 10 pm only on the day of the festival.
#firecrackers on Diwali allowed from 8 to 10 pm by Supreme Court
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 23, 2018
Read here: https://t.co/xbEFTta8OH
Track updates here: https://t.co/USs54vdepN pic.twitter.com/p6XHaX07OA
However, the Pollution Control Board has expressed its dissatisfaction on the judgment.
Supreme Court's orders are not very strict. We were expecting complete ban but that has not happened. Crackers will be allowed but there is time restriction as it will be allowed between 8 pm to 10 pm: Vijay Panjwani, Advocate of Central Pollution Control Board pic.twitter.com/oHHu9oQ8K9
— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2018
Many Twitter users have expressed their reservations on the judgment.
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The order should not have mentioned Diwali. People will burn crackers a day after diwali, the order should have been more generic in banning crackers at any time of the year. #Disappointed pic.twitter.com/4AXvflDr9T
— T V SATYA NARAYANA (@tvsatish9) October 23, 2018
Thank u hon SC for a fabulous judgement on the #firecrackers. Thank u for once again showing…Amongst all the noise there is sanity & wisdom in this great court of ours!!
— Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) October 23, 2018
The court order also provides that only licensed traders can sell firecrackers and the crackers must be made of permitted chemicals that ensure reduced emissions. Crackers in India cannot be sold online with E-commerce sites facing penalties if they do otherwise.