Supreme Court refuses to modify cracker ban order in Delhi-NCR

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to modify its earlier order on sale of firecrackers. The court said that ban on sale will continue till further hearing in the case.''We will ascertain after Diwali if there has been a difference in pollution levels'', the Apex court said.

Earlier, the traders had moved the Supreme Court seeking modification of its order banning sale of crackers in Delhi-NCR till October 31 on the ground that it was likely to cause huge losses to them. Traders had told the Apex Court that their licences were revived in pursuance of the Apex court's order passed in September 12 and they procured firecrackers for sale during Diwali.

The Supreme Court had recently banned the sale of crackers in Delhi-NCR till November 1, dealing a blow to the firecracker traders and businessmen. The Delhi police have also asked citizens not to buy or sell crackers online after they chanced upon websites offering crackers in the Delhi-NCR region.