The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that its direction issued on October 23 for bursting of green crackers this Diwali was confined to Delhi and the National Capital Region only.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan also clarified that its order restricting bursting of crackers between 8 and 10 pm on Diwali day would mean two hours in a day.
"The bursting of crackers would be for two hours only in a day. The timing could be decided by the state authorities," the bench said.
The timing could even be staggered but must not exceed two hours, the court added.
The court's order was passed on an application filed by the Tamil Nadu government, which contended that Deepawali was celebrated there in the morning, unlike northern India. It sought permission for bursting of crackers in the morning after Diwali night.
During the hearing, when it was pointed out that green crackers could not be made available this Diwali across the country, the bench said the order was confined only to Delhi and National Capital Region.
The court had directed for community bursting of green crackers only in Delhi and NCR. But for other states, it said the option must be explored for community bursting of crackers in order to avoid large-scale air and sound pollution.
The court said it would pass a detailed clarification order on Wednesday.
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