Does the ban end with Ganeshotsav? No: the Bombay High Court Extends Firecracker Ban On Streets to all festivals throughout the year, the ongoing Navratri and the coming Diwali included, citing worsening air quality.
Mumbai: The prohibition on bursting firecrackers on public streets, lanes and footpaths is not a Ganeshotsav measure, the Bombay High Court has clarified. It holds good all year and for every festival, the ongoing Navratri, the upcoming Diwali and Christmas among them, though the Court has stated that it has not banned the manufacture or sale of firecrackers [High Court on its own motion v. State of Maharashtra and Others].
A Division Bench of Justice Girish S. Kulkarni and Justice Neela K. Gokhale passed the order on Thursday, 15 October 2026.
What the authorities must do
The State of Maharashtra, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board were directed to jointly issue public notices on the ill-effects of firecrackers and to launch awareness campaigns in schools and on public transport within a week.
They are also to enlist celebrities for the campaign, promote low-emission green crackers, and set up an efficient complaint mechanism with the police.
Where the ban began
The clarification comes in a suo motu public interest litigation, heard with other petitions, on noise and environmental pollution from amplified sound systems and firecrackers on public roads during festivals. On 22 September 2026, during Ganeshotsav, the Bench banned the bursting of firecrackers on public streets, lanes and footpaths and issued directions on loudspeaker noise, including decibel meters at venues and processions and security deposits from organisers for loudspeaker permissions. Thursday’s order widens that street ban in time.
Air quality at the centre
Worsening air quality was at the heart of the Court’s concern. The toxic pollution that follows Diwali, it said, affects children and senior citizens in particular, and calls for a strict shift in the enforcement of the law. It described citizens’ rights as paramount and non-compliance with the law as the core problem, remarking to the authorities that they have no control over burning firecrackers.
What the clarification settles
In Maharashtra, the street ban is now festival-neutral and year-round, and attention shifts from the wording of the ban to its enforcement by the State, the municipal body and the pollution control board. The Court has confined the ban to public streets, lanes and footpaths and has expressly left manufacture and sale untouched.
Case Title: High Court on its own motion v. State of Maharashtra and Others (case number not available)
Bench: Justice Girish S. Kulkarni and Justice Neela K. Gokhale, Bombay High Court
Date of Order: October 15, 2026