Supreme Court Allows Green Crackers In Delhi-NCR For Diwali On November 7 And 8

Representative photo: Fireworks light up the night sky during Diwali (Pexels / Deepak Ramesha)

Delhi-NCR residents will be able to burst firecrackers this Diwali, but only the certified green kind, only at designated places, and only for a few hours on two days. In an order made public on Monday, 2 November 2026, the Supreme Court allowed a strictly limited relaxation of the firecracker ban for the festival, which falls on 8 November this year. The complete ban will return from 9 November.

A Bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale said bursting firecrackers during Diwali is a religious practice, but one that, left unregulated, causes severe air and noise pollution and creates solid waste. Children, the elderly and people with disabilities are among the most vulnerable, the court noted. The order, dated 29 October, tries to balance celebration with public health at a time when Delhi's air quality has already slipped into the 'very poor' category.

What Is Allowed And When

Certified green firecrackers may be burst only between 6 am and 7 am and between 8 pm and 10 pm on 7 and 8 November 2026. That is three hours per day, and no bursting is permitted outside those windows. The sale of approved green crackers is allowed from 4 to 6 November, while manufacture by certified makers is permitted from 2 to 6 November. Once the window closes, the earlier complete ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR will be restored with effect from 9 November.

Only Certified Green Crackers, No Online Sale

The relaxation applies only to green crackers approved by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI). Manufacturers must hold valid CSIR-NEERI certification and licences from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), and may produce only those products uploaded on the CSIR-NEERI website. Traders whose licences were cancelled have had them restored temporarily, only from 4 to 6 November, to sell approved stock. Boxes must be sealed and carry a product-specific QR code for verification, and online sales are banned. Green crackers may be sold only at locations designated by district authorities in consultation with police, so that conventional crackers cannot enter the market disguised as green ones. Firecrackers containing barium and all non-approved crackers remain prohibited.

No-Cracker Zones Around Hospitals And Schools

There shall be no bursting of fireworks 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 published, so residents know exactly where the rule applies. The court also directed pollution control boards to prepare daily air-quality reports for the pre-Diwali period of 2 to 6 November, the festival days of 7 and 8 November, and the post-Diwali period of 9 to 30 November. Authorities must file compliance affidavits by 14 December, covering enforcement, designated sale locations, prosecutions, air-quality trends and post-Diwali hospital admissions, and the matter will next be heard on 16 December.

Why The Court Allowed A Limited Window

The court was sharply critical of past enforcement, observing that the state had utterly failed since 2015 to comply with its orders on restricting fireworks. Rather than an open-ended permission, it therefore chose a short, tightly policed window with daily monitoring. It also called on members of the Bar, celebrities, sportspersons and other prominent personalities to voluntarily lead awareness campaigns, underlining that lasting change needs citizens to embrace environmentally responsible celebrations rather than waiting for pollution to peak.

Conclusion

For Delhi-NCR, this Diwali comes with clear conditions: green crackers only, certified and QR-coded, bought from designated sellers, burst only in the permitted hours, and never near hospitals, care homes, schools or silence zones. Anything outside those limits remains banned, and the full ban returns on 9 November.

Will you celebrate with green crackers this Diwali, or skip fireworks altogether this year? Share your view in the comments.