New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday called for a pan-India ban on the sale, production, and manufacture of firecrackers, emphasising that the ban is not
"just limited to Delhi". "If there is a policy, it should be a pan-India policy," the court ruled. "Just because the Supreme Court is in Delhi, it doesn't mean only Delhiites are entitled to clean air," Chief Justice BR Gavai said. CJI said people residing in cities like Amritsar are also experiencing air pollution. Speaking about his visit to Amritsar last year, he said: " There the pollution level was more than Delhi. Just because the people in Delhi are elite...that doesn't mean other people in other states are not entitled to clean air. So there has to be a pan-India policy," he said. In April, the Supreme Court confirmed the ban on firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) as "absolutely necessary". At the time, the court reasoned that restricting the ban to a few months would not serve any purpose. The Supreme Court had repeatedly intervened against firecrackers owing to the "horrible" levels of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR. "Air pollution levels remain alarmingly high for months. It affects the common man, especially those who earn their livelihood on the streets. Not everyone can afford air purifiers at their homes and offices," Justice AS Oka, who along with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing a plea by traders, observed. "Right to health is an essential part of the Constitution, so also the right to live in a pollution-free environment," Justice Oka added.
