The Supreme Court on Monday overturned the Calcutta High Court’s order banning firecrackers during the festival season, including Kali Puja, Diwali and Gurupurab, in view of air pollution and health condition of Covid-19 patients in home isolation.
The top court said that there “cannot be a blanket ban on firecrackers” and allowed green crackers in areas where the air quality is “moderate”.
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A special bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi also asked the West Bengal government to explore the possibility to ensure that banned firecrackers and related items are not imported in the state at the entry point itself.
The bench was hearing a petition by Goutom Roy, the Chairman of an association of firecracker manufacturers called “Sara Bangla Atasbazi Unnayan Samity”, who challenged the blanket ban.
“The mechanism must be strengthened to stop misuse,” the supreme court said.
The Calcutta high court on October 29 had banned sale, use and purchase of all types of firecrackers in the state.
The counsel appearing for the petitioners told the bench, which assembled during the Diwali vacation to hear the matter, that they have served through e-mail the advance copies of the plea to the lawyers appearing for the respondents, including the state government and the pollution control board.
State and pollution control board will have to be heard if any order is to be passed, the bench said during the hearing conducted through videoconferencing. It appears that advance copy has already been served on the standing counsel for the state of West Bengal as well as the pollution control board. However, no appearance is made on their behalf. We permit the counsel for the petitioners to intimate the standing counsel for the state of West Bengal as well as the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, if any, that the matter will be taken up at 3 pm through video-conference and to make themselves available with appropriate instructions, the bench said.
One of the pleas filed in the apex court has claimed that the October 29 order passed by the high court was patently erroneous in holding a complete ban on firecrackers within West Bengal when the apex court has allowed the use of green firecrackers in permissible limit across all states. The high court failed to appreciate that green crackers with reduced emission by a minimum of 30 per cent have been introduced in the local market. These are environment friendly, said one of the pleas filed by the chairman of a West Bengal-based firecracker association and another such group.
One of the petitioners has said that they represent the interest of about seven lakh families who are involved in the process of manufacture and sale of fireworks and are involved in the fireworks industry in one manner or another. The high court failed to appreciate that the firecrackers manufacturers under the supervision and guidance of competent authorities of both the central and state governments are now engaged in manufacturing only green crackers which conform to permissible smoke and noise levels in terms of the directions of the apex court and the National Green Tribunal, the plea said. It has sought ex-parte interim stay on the operation of the high court order.
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