Supreme Court: Pollution Policy Cannot Be Limited To Delhi Alone

The Supreme Court questioned limiting anti-pollution measures to Delhi-NCR, arguing that clean air is a nationwide right.

Firecrackers have been responsible for a surge in the AQI during Diwali in winters.

Source : તસવીર સોશિયલ મીડિયા

The Supreme Court on Friday questioned why anti-pollution measures should apply only to Delhi, stressing that clean air is a right for every citizen across the country. "If cities in the NCR have the right to breathe clean air, why shouldn’t people in other cities enjoy the same?" Chief Justice of India BR Gavai observed. "We cannot frame a policy only for Delhi just because they are considered the elite class of the country."

The remarks came during a hearing on petitions challenging the court’s April 3 order banning the sale, storage, transportation, and manufacture of firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR region, reported NDTV.

CJI Gavai recalled his recent visit to Amritsar, noting that the city’s air pollution last winter was worse than Delhi’s. "If firecrackers are to be banned, it should apply across the entire country," he said.

During the proceedings, senior advocate Aparajita Singh, the court-appointed amicus curiae in the Delhi pollution case, pointed out that Delhi’s affluent residents often escape the problem. "Whenever pollution rises, the elite move out of the city," she remarked.

The April bench, led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, had earlier highlighted how the brunt of pollution is borne by ordinary citizens — street vendors, daily wage earners, and those without access to air purifiers. "A large section of the population works on the streets and is the worst affected. Right to health is an essential part of Article 21 of the Constitution, as is the right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere," the bench said.

The court also made it clear that it would not reconsider the ban unless there was solid evidence proving that so-called "green crackers" caused minimal harm.

The top court emphasised that its earlier orders banning firecrackers in Delhi-NCR were not arbitrary but a response to an "extraordinary situation" triggered by dangerously high levels of air pollution in the capital.