Supreme Court revises order on firecrackers for Tamil Nadu where Diwali is daytime festival

Chennai: The Supreme Court on Tuesday made an exception to its order on the timing of bursting firecrackers for the state of Tamil Nadu. The state government had approached the apex court on Monday for permission to burst crackers between 4:30 AM and 6:30 AM during Diwali as the festival has traditionally always been celebrated in the daytime in that state.

Responding positively to the petition, the highest court modified its order restricting the use of firecrackers between 8 PM and 10 PM during Diwali, considering the tradition and culture of Tamil Nadu.

But the modified Supreme Court order has a broader application. While delivering the revised judgment, the apex court allowed all state governments to determine the two hours of the day of Diwali for bursting crackers in accordance with the respective local cultures.

Justice AK Sikri maintained that the window would not exceed "two hours" of the day of the festival. 

The court clarified that the former order on the bursting of green crackers was confined to Delhi-NCR and not other states. Justice Sikri added that he would pass a detailed order by Wednesday. 

The Tamil Nadu government in its petition had pleaded that the people of the state would be “deprived” of their rights of celebrating the festival bursting crackers if the order was not modified. 

The Tamil Nadu government had remarked further that, while Diwali is celebrated in the evening of November 7 in northern India, it is celebrated at dawn of November 6 in some states of the south.

The court revised its previous order, setting a timeframe for bursting crackers and also the use of ‘green’ or eco-friendly crackers in an effort to curb pollution. The court, on October 23, had decided not to completely ban fireworks, but set a timeframe for people across the country.

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