SC Ban on Cracker Sale - Is it Judicial Overreach?

Diwali is the festival of lights… not the festival of sound (and pollution).

Keeping this in mind, the Honourable Supreme Court of India has issued an order on the ban on selling of fireworks in the NCR till 1^st November, 2017. This means that there is no ban on bursting of fire crackers.

There are many good reasons that has been cited for this move. First and foremost being the deterioration of the air quality in and around Delhi. Secondly, this almost coincides with the season of crop burning in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab. Lastly, the smog situation in Delhi during winters, despite having the largest fleet of CNG buses and 100% Green Metro (DMRC) and temporary closure of coal based Badarpur Thermal Power Plant. This is not a revelation. This is a constant reminder of the fact of the failure of the central and state governments to tackle this multi-directional cumbersome problem. CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and SPCB (State Pollution Control Board) are toothless tigers that have been entrusted to monitor the air-quality. In case of Delhi, CPCB is supposed to send a daily air quality report to EPCA (Environment Pollution Control Authority) that is supposed to implement the “Graded Response Action Plan” formulated by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest in January, 2017. The State Secretaries have been designated as the Nodal Officers for the implementation.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Many believe, it is too little, too late – including me.

We need to have an overarching plan to combat the pollution, not just in Delhi. This is a basic governance problem that has not be effectively alleviated, resulting in the Supreme Court to step in. In this context, much has been highlighted in the media about the petition received on behalf of 3 children last year, that has resulted in passing of this order.

But will this achieve the desired results? Is it not a judicial overreach?

We need to understand that this is a temporary measure, just like the highly debated odd-even scheme. Secondly, why target just Diwali as the festival and why not also include crackers as a whole across all occasions including marriages, Christmas and New year? This shows that the issue is being addressed in a piecemeal approach. Thirdly, why not ban bursting of crackers as well? Fourthly, the livelihood, GST and various other factors have already hit the informal sector hard enough. This will also result in lower income of this population segment engaged in fireworks production. Fifthly, despite 1,200 kg of illegal fireworks seizure since SC ban on the sale, those enthusiastic enough will buy on black market or from places outside of NCR. Lastly, once the fireworks are bought, do the Indian government have actually enough manpower and effort to actually validate whether it was purchased legally?

On the aspect of Judicial overreach, while it is understood that the honourable SC was passing the judgement on the petition submitted by the children last year; should it not be the responsibility of taking the government, the CPCB, SPCB and EPA to task and grill them why the situation remains grim with respect to pollution, especially in NCR that the air is unbreathable and remains at 999 on AQI? The SC may have all the good intentions at the core, but also needs to ensure that the respective agencies entrusted to protect the environment along with the Government are doing their job. Also, just banning the sale and not the bursting of crackers is another example why this order will have limited impact on the pollution.

To conclude, Judicial Activism is good and important in the Indian democratic context. When this turns into Judicial Overreach – primarily due to the failure of Government institutions, this becomes a problem. The current SC order, in this case seems to be a classic catch 22 situation where there is a very fine line drawn between Judicial Activism vis-à-vis Judicial Overreach. As someone said, “Like beauty, Activisim lies in the eyes of beholder!” So, you the reader – be the judge of this situation…