SC bans sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR on 3 toddlers' plea

New Delhi: Responding to a plea filed by three toddlers, the Supreme Court on Friday banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi. The decision has been taken to curb the continuously increasing air pollution in the national capital.

The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, ordered the government not to renew firecracker licenses.

“Keeping the grave air quality in mind, we can intervene to suspend the license,” the top court said.

Arjun Gopal, Aarav Bhandari and Zoya Rao Bhasin were the three toddlers who file the petition in the top court through their fathers.

"Delhi has managed to retain the distinction of being the most polluted city in the world. Levels of particulate matter are the highest here and across the country, over 7,00,000 deaths are caused every year because of air pollution-related ailments," said the petitioners, aged between six and 14 months.

The petition, which was filed in 2015, says, "Studies have developed that Indian people have 30 percent lower lung capacity than Europeans and children are the worst affected as their organs aren't fully developed. This leads to more vulnerability in their systems."

The apex court in its order on Friday also asked the Central Pollution of Control Board (CPCB) to research the harmful effects of materials used in the manufacturing of crackers. The report needs to be submitted within three months.

Advocate Amit Bhandari, father of Aarav, however, said that the order doesn't include ban on bursting crackers, but hoped that unavailability of firecrackers would ensure there is no bursting.

Meanwhile, the transportation of crackers from other places to the NCR region would be considered illegal.