This Diwali, bursting firecrackers could get you jailed for a month

Revelers watch a firework during Diwali celebrations in Delhi | Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg

In light of the Supreme Court order restricting the sale and use of firecrackers, there’s little you can do to indulge your love for fireworks this Diwali.

New Delhi: There are a lot of reasons one can be arrested this Diwali, as a man from Delhi’s Wazirpur learned the hard way this weekend. Damandeep Gupta was arrested on a neighbour’s complaint for bursting firecrackers, a Diwali fixture that has divided Delhi in light of last month’s Supreme Court ban.

On account of Delhi-NCR’s appalling pollution situation, the Supreme Court, on 23 October, imposed heavy restrictions on the use of firecrackers in the region: Only “green” firecrackers can be burst; they should be burst in designated areas in community events; and they should be burst on festival days between 8 pm and 10 pm.

Flouting these rules could land one in jail for up to a month, with the stakes much higher for unlicensed sellers.

“Different types of offences will invite different charges,” said deputy commissioner of police (east Delhi) Nupur Prasad. “Broadly, the two categories are selling and bursting of firecrackers. Under selling, charges are different for licensed shopkeepers and unlicensed ones.”

Law-breakers

For those of you looking to brighten your Diwali with some fireworks, there are two ways you can fall foul of the Supreme Court order.

You can burst non-green crackers 

Bursting crackers that do not qualify for the safety guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court can get you booked under Section 188 of the Indian penal code (IPC).

Under the section, if a person violates an order promulgated by a public servant who has the authority to impose it, they can be punished with “simple impris­onment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both”. The accused in the Wazirpur case has been charged under this section.

The green crackers allowed under the Supreme Court order are those that have lower emissions and produce less noise than conventional fireworks.

However, not bursting conventional crackers may mean staying away from fireworks altogether this Diwali, because the environment-friendly ones remain largely unavailable.

“There barely are any green crackers in the market,” said DCP Prasad. “It will be up to the person bursting the crackers to prove that they are green. They will be sent for forensic tests.”

However, advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan, the lawyer who represented one of the petitioners seeking the ban, said green crackers were not profitable to make and, hence, not available in the market.

“Anyone bursting crackers is, in all likelihood, violating the law,” he said.

Bursting crackers outside the time limit or designated area

This offence will invite immediate action, according to police. Delhi Police and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have made preparations to catch the perpetrators in the act.

“We have 50-52 teams traversing the city looking for delinquents,” said V. Moni, the private secretary to the CPCB member secretary.

“We also have Sameer (CPCB’s AQI app), where you can register complaints [about violations],” he added. “Our website and Twitter handles are also very responsive to citizens who are facing any such problems.”

Police are patrolling the city 24×7, and also using distributing pamphlets to spread awareness about the order.

“We won’t be waiting for complaints, we are working overtime to ensure this does not happen,” Prasad added.

Being caught for this offence can also get one booked under Section 188.

However, this is not the only section that can be imposed, according to advocate Shankarnarayan. “They can also be charged with public nuisance (Section 268). There also are provisions under the air Act and the Environment Protection Act that can be invoked,” he said.

Selling illegal crackers 

Licensed shops selling non-green crackers will be booked under Section 188. “Most of them aren’t selling crackers [at all] because green crackers aren’t readily available in the market,” said Prasad.

However, unlicensed shops will be booked under IPC Section 286, which pertains to negligent conduct with respect to explosive circumstances and can be “punished with imprisonment… for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees”.

It will also invite Section 9(1)(b) of the Explosives Act 2008, which mandates indigenous explosives to conform to set standards of chemical composition.

The stakes for police

Shankarnarayan said police had more than enough power and provisions to charge offenders.

“Moreover, I’m very optimistic that this time people will call police and they will act,” he said. “Otherwise, they are likely to face contempt charges.”

The apex court order mandated “all the official respondents, and particularly police… to ensure that fireworks take place only during the designated time and at designated places”.

“They shall also ensure that there is no sale of banned firecrackers,” the order adds. “In case any violation is found, the station house officer (SHO) of the concerned police station… shall be held personally liable… and this would amount to committing contempt of the court…”