During the hearing, CJI Gavai said, “If the cities of NCR have the right to clean air, then why don’t the people of other cities?”.
“Whatever policy should be there, it should be at the pan-India level. We cannot make policy only for Delhi because they are the elite class of the country,” he added.
CJI Gavai shared a personal anecdote to highlight the widespread nature of the issue, stating, “I went to Amritsar last winter and the pollution there was worse than Delhi.” He said that any potential ban on firecrackers should be implemented nationwide and not just in a select region. “If firecrackers are to be banned, then there should be a ban in the whole country,” he said.
The court was hearing a petition that challenged its order from April 3, 2025, which banned the sale, storage, transportation, and manufacture of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. In response to the plea, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), seeking a reply within two weeks.
During the proceedings, Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh commented on the socio-economic disparity in dealing with pollution, noting, “The elite class takes care of itself. When there is pollution, they move out of Delhi.”
