Not against particular festival, celebration: SC says follow cracker ban order strictly
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Oct, 2021 10:36 AM
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.
Meanwhile, India logged 27,254 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The country also reported 219 Covid deaths in the same time span. The country presently has nearly 3.75 lakh active cases.
At a virtual Covid-19 review meeting, the Chief Minister said vaccine effectiveness is evident from the data being analysed. Special efforts were made to reach out to the government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said with the case load decreasing, people had started being lax about wearing masks, which the Health Department should strictly enforce with the help of the police.
Additional Chief Secretary Devendra Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Karnal Nishant Yadav are participating in the meeting. From the farmers side, BKU president Gurunam Singh Chaduni and the state leadership will present their demands.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told the media here after the day-long deliberations with the political parties, except the BJP, that they had told the political parties not to hold big rallies till elections in the state are announced.
Naqvi further stated that the long-pending demand of Kartarpur Corridor has been fulfilled and the government has also decided to start the 'Gurudwara circuit train' that will take passengers on a pilgrimage across the country.
