The Delhi High Court has disposed of a public interest litigation seeking comprehensive regulation of firecracker use after noting that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently issued the 2026 Guidelines for Safe Handling and Use of Firecrackers in India. However, the Court permitted the petitioner to submit suggestions highlighting alleged deficiencies in the guidelines and directed the Centre to consider them within three months.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia was hearing a PIL filed by the Ocular Trauma Society of India, which sought directions for the formulation and implementation of comprehensive guidelines to prevent firecracker-related ocular injuries, regulate the use of firecrackers in high-risk areas such as densely populated localities and public parks, establish a mechanism to monitor firecracker-related accidents, and introduce penalties for irresponsible use causing injuries.
During the hearing, the Union of India informed the Court that the Trauma and Burn Division, Directorate General of Health Services, had issued detailed guidelines in 2026 addressing the safe handling and use of firecrackers. The petitioner, however, contended that while the guidelines prescribe safety measures, they do not provide any implementation mechanism or penal consequences for violations.
Observing that the guidelines had been framed only recently and that their effectiveness was yet to be tested, the Bench permitted the petitioner to submit a representation or suggestions to the competent authority identifying the alleged lacunae. The Court directed that the representation be made within two weeks, and that the competent authority consider it and take an appropriate decision within three months.
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The Bench further clarified that if any grievance survives after the authority decides the representation, it would be open to the petitioner to initiate appropriate proceedings, including filing a fresh writ petition before the High Court. With these directions, the PIL was disposed of.
