Banned articles being used by fireworks manufacturers as green crackers: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said under the guise of green crackers, banned articles are being used by firecracker manufacturers and reiterated that its earlier order banning joint crackers must be complied with by every state.

A Bench of Justices M R Shah and A S Bopanna said the top court is not averse to celebration but not at the cost of life of other citizens.

Celebration does not mean the use of loud crackers, it can also be with 'Fuljhaddi' and the like which are not noisy, it said.

"Our earlier order must be complied with by every state. Despite the fact that there is a specific ban on joint crackers, if you go to any state or city or any celebration, joint crackers are openly available in the market.

"Our order must be complied with. It is not the question of whether one content or the other. It is being sold openly in the market and used by people. We would like to know if a ban is there, how come they are available in markets," the Bench said.

As the hearing commenced, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for petitioner Arjun Gopal, submitted that they have filed an additional affidavit on the basis of the CBI report and what has transpired is indeed very disturbing.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for manufacturers' association of firecrackers, contended that the industry should work as per the protocol issued by the government. Continued on P4