'Spend money on sweets': Supreme Court rejects urgent hearing on Delhi firecracker ban ahead of Diwali

With Diwali approaching, the Supreme Court reportedly denied an urgent hearing on a petition against a blanket ban on firecrackers in Delhi. The top court said on 20 October 2022, "Let people breathe clean air... spend your money on sweets."

On the same day, the Delhi High Court refused to entertain a petition against a complete ban on sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the national capital. The petitioners had called the ban imposed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on 14 September 2022 as "arbitrary and illegal".

The high court said that it would be inappropriate for it to hear the matter as the issue was "engaging the attention" of the Supreme Court.

Delhi's air quality is currently in the 'poor' category, and is expected to deteriorate to 'very poor' by 22 October. Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been enforced in the national capital region (NCR) to battle growing air pollution.