Green Crackers In Delhi-NCR can be sold and burst for a short Diwali window this year, the Supreme Court has ruled, but only CSIR-NEERI-approved products carrying QR codes, at fixed hours, and with the year-round ban returning on November 9.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2, permitted the manufacture, sale and bursting of approved green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for a limited period ahead of Diwali, allowing bursting between 6 AM and 8 PM on November 7 and between 7 AM and 10 PM on November 8, and directing that the complete firecracker ban will be restored from November 9, 2026 [Arjun Gopal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.].
A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale passed the order on a set of interlocutory applications in the long-running Delhi air pollution writ petition, heard along with a 2026 suo motu writ petition. The Court allowed intervention applications by the Delhi Fireworks Shopkeepers Association and the Federation of Fireworks Traders.
A festival and the environment
The order opens with a prelude on how Indian tradition has viewed festivals and nature together. The bench wrote:
“Philosophers and thinkers of Ancient India have always treated environment as an integral part of religion. For them, all the living beings are one and the same.”
The Court described Diwali as a festival of lights that has taken on the character of a national festival, celebrated by people regardless of caste, community and religion. Against that backdrop, it framed the relaxation as temporary and hedged with strict safeguards on manufacture, sale and use, broadly along the lines of the relaxation it allowed for Diwali last year.
Timings and No-Cracker Zones
Bursting is permitted only in two windows: 6 AM to 8 PM on November 7, and 7 AM to 10 PM on November 8. Firecrackers cannot be burst within a 300-metre radius of hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health centres, old-age homes, educational institutions and notified silence zones. These areas are to be declared No-Cracker Zones, marked on the ground and publicised, and the authorities have been asked to avoid inconvenience to persons suffering from ailments.
Only certified green crackers, with QR codes
Manufacturers holding valid green cracker certification from CSIR-NEERI and licences from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) may manufacture, between November 2 and 6, only those green crackers uploaded on the CSIR-NEERI website. Boxes must be completely sealed so that conventional or unauthorised firecrackers are not mixed in.
Firecrackers joined in series, commonly called ‘ladis’, and garlands are prohibited, as are firecrackers containing barium and any product not approved by CSIR-NEERI as a green cracker. Every box must carry a product-specific, batch-specific QR code that discloses the manufacturer, NEERI registration, PESO or District Magistrate licence, formulation and test certificate. The QR codes are non-transferable, and selling them will lead to cancellation of the registration or licence.
Licences restored for three days, security deposits ordered
Cancelled licences of traders have been restored temporarily, from November 4 to 6, only to sell approved green crackers procured from certified manufacturers. Any trader found violating the directions will lose the licence immediately. The authorities must also require every manufacturer and trader in Delhi-NCR to furnish monetary security in a substantial amount, which will stand forfeited on any violation of the Court’s directions or the applicable regulations.
No online sale, police patrols at sale points
District Collectors and Commissioners in Delhi-NCR, in consultation with the District Superintendents of Police, are to designate the locations where green crackers may be sold. Sale anywhere else, including on online platforms, is prohibited. Police patrolling teams familiar with the order and the approved products are to inspect the designated locations regularly, verify QR codes, confiscate illegal or conventional firecrackers at once, and start prosecutions against offending manufacturers and traders. Vehicles entering Delhi-NCR are to be checked to stop conventional firecrackers being brought in.
Banners at sale points must explain how to identify approved green crackers, the sealed-box rule, the permitted dates and timings, and how to complain about violators. Shopkeepers must display copies of the Court’s directions prominently.
Why the order matters
The order keeps the year-round firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR as the rule and treats Diwali as a narrow, supervised exception. The Court has tried to balance the right to clean air under Article 21 with the cultural place of the festival by limiting the exception to two days, specific hours and certified products, and by restoring the ban automatically on November 9.
Its success will turn on enforcement. QR-coded boxes, sealed packaging, designated sale points, forfeitable security deposits and police patrols are meant to stop conventional crackers being passed off as green ones, a problem that has undermined such relaxations before. The duty to make these safeguards work now rests on the district administrations and the police across the region.
Case Title: Arjun Gopal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [I.A. No. 245432/2026 and connected I.A.s in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 728/2015, with Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 15/2026]
Citation: 2026 INSC 1181
Bench: Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B Varale, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: November 2, 2026