Not against particular festival, celebration: SC says follow cracker ban order strictly

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Ahead of Diwali, the Supreme Court on Thursday said the firecracker ban order needs to be strictly followed.

A bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah emphasized that it is not against any particular festival, but it is also essential to protect the right to life. The bench also comprising Justice A. S. Bopanna said: "We do not want to come in the way of enjoyment, but for enjoyment one cannot play with the fundamental right of others."

The bench added the authorities entrusted with the task to implement orders must show more responsibility. It clarified that it has not put a 100 per cent ban on firecrackers and all crackers were not banned, but celebration with firecrackers made from banned material should not be permitted.

The bench observed, "Can we say that enjoyment can be done at the cost of other's lives? Today also we can see that crackers are being sold in the market".

It added that last time it had emphasized that there should be some accountability on behalf of those who had to implement the order.

The bench said: "We want full implementation of our orders. We are not against a particular community".

It further added that the court wants to send a strong message that it is there for the protection of fundamental rights of citizens.

The bench said it is not against any particular festival and also not against celebration, but it cannot permit anybody to play with the right to life of others in the guise of celebration.

"We have to enforce the previous orders", added the bench. A counsel in the matter mentioned about the ban of crackers in Delhi. The bench replied, "We know what people of Delhi are suffering...We want implementation of the court's orders".

The hearing in the matter will continue on Friday.

The top court is hearing a plea in the firecrackers case, where it has sought reply from firecracker manufacturers, on a CBI preliminary enquiry report claiming manufacturers were using banned barium chemicals.