‘States Can Fix Own Slots For Crackers'

SC modifies ruling after T.N. plea

- Krishnadas Rajagopal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday modified its October 23 order restricting the time for bursting crackers on Deepavali and other religious festivals to two hours, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Instead, it allowed Tamil Nadu and adjacent southern States to decide when people can burst crackers on festival days, provided the total time does not cross the two-hour mark. This means the authorities can stagger the time slots and even make it an hour in the morning and another in the night.

Green rule for NCR

Further, the court said its direction that only green crackers could be manufactured and sold is only applicable to Delhi and the National Capital Region.