Written by PPL Newsroom• October 3, 2026• 5:43 am• Policy

Supreme Court rules out total firecracker ban before Diwali, but wants fixed hours

A Bench said it will neither prohibit crackers outright nor allow all-day bursting, and will decide timings and permitted types after a pollution board report on 15 October.

The Supreme Court has signalled that it will not impose a complete ban on firecrackers this Diwali, and will not allow unrestricted bursting either. A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale made the remarks on Wednesday, 30 September, according to LiveLaw and other reports. The court said it would specify the hours in which permitted crackers can be used.

This is an indication, not a final order. The Bench is still to decide which categories of crackers will be allowed and at what times.

What the court said

The Bench said it had to balance religious sentiments against the effect of air pollution on children, older people and the sick, as reported by LiveLaw. In the words of the court, “Total ban will affect sentiments.” According to Bar and Bench, it added that allowing crackers through the whole day would have a heavy impact on other living beings.

The hearing is part of a case that began in 2015. In it, the court has been issuing directions to restrict firecracker use in Delhi and other pollution-affected states between October and January. Delhi’s poor air quality had earlier led the court to ban crackers there. In 2025, it allowed the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for a limited period during Diwali.

Joint crackers and the barium question

Two technical issues remain open. The first is “joint” crackers, or larri, which are strings of individual crackers linked by one fuse. The Centre has proposed allowing new-generation joint crackers with conditions on the number and size of shells, the gap between bursts, noise limits and other rules. The Bench said it was inclined to accept these suggestions.

According to the note filed by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, such crackers would be allowed only if made by licensed manufacturers, kept within a noise limit of 125 dB(AI)/145 dB(C) peak, and free of banned chemicals. The note cited recommendations from CSIR-NEERI, the government’s environmental research institute.

The second issue is barium-based crackers. Bhati asked for time until 15 October to file the Central Pollution Control Board’s report on these, saying outdoor testing had not yet been done. The Bench granted the time and said it will study the report before deciding which categories can be permitted.

Lawyers for manufacturers asked the court not to single out Delhi. Senior Advocate K Parameshwar said this case and the separate MC Mehta air-quality case overlap and should ideally be heard together to avoid conflicting directions.

What this means for India

Every year, Delhi’s pollution levels rise around Diwali, and that sharpens the debate between public health and festival traditions, as Loktej noted. This year’s approach points to a middle path: fixed hours and tighter product rules, instead of a blanket prohibition. Households in Delhi-NCR and other northern states covered by the case should wait for the court’s final order after 15 October. The order will say which crackers are allowed and when they can be burst. Manufacturers and traders face the same wait for clarity.

What happens next

The case returns to court on 15 October, the date by which the CPCB and the Centre must present their report and test results, according to Loktej. Only after that will the Bench fix the permitted categories and time windows. Until then, the practical rules for this Diwali remain undecided.