Supreme Court refuses ban on sale of firecrackers; bans e-commerce websites from selling crackers

In an attempt to reduce the pollution level in the country, a plea was filed in Supreme Court for a complete ban on sale and use of firecrackers but the apex court has rejected the plea and allowed the sale of firecrackers with certain conditions.

The pollution level in the Delhi-NCR increases at an alarming rate after the Diwali celebrations but the apex court has ruled that sale can be made through a licensed vendor only and only for 2 hours in a day, the crackers can be fired.

Supreme Court has disallowed a complete ban on firecrackers rather has said that the crackers can fired only in between 8pm to 10pm and that too only on Diwali and has asked agencies to monitor the pollution level at every juncture.

The apex court in the decision has also said that only less polluting and 'green' crackers can be fired, which are usually less polluting in nature.

A partial ban has been made on the vendors but a complete ban on selling of firecrackers has been made for online portals like Amazon and Flipkart. The e-retailers cannot sell or purchase firecrackers in any condition, the Supreme Court has ruled.