The Supreme Court refused on Friday to modify its order banning firecracker sales in Delhi-NCR, saying it was anguished at people giving the ruling a communal angle.

The SC reinstated on Monday its ban on the sale of firecrackers in and around New Delhi ahead of Diwali, in a preemptive step to stop a toxic haze from engulfing the region like last year.

“I am very spiritual person but this is something different,” said justice AK Sikri.

Sale of firecrackers ban

The SC said on Friday it hadn’t stopped people from celebrating Diwali. “It’s just an experiment for one year; we will take stock,” the apex court said.

On Monday, a top court bench headed by justice Sikri postponed implementing its September order relaxing restrictions while accepting a plea from three children for reinstating the ban. The court said the ban runs until November 1. Diwali falls on October 19 this year.

An acrid smog forced authorities to close schools and ban construction activities after Diwali last November. The city of more than 20 million people struggled with its worst air pollution for two decades, shrouded in smoke from millions of fireworks lit during the festival, burning of crop residue in neighbouring states before winter, vehicle exhaust and construction dust.

The court then banned the sale of firecrackers, but relaxed the restrictions on September 12 this year after a plea from fireworks manufacturers. The court said a complete ban would be a “radical step”.