Delhi: Why only a few are arrested for flouting firecracker norms

Two days after fireworks led to major changes in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi on Diwali night (October 24), the Delhi police, in an informal interaction, said the cases registered for flouting firecracker norms were far fewer compared to last year.

According to Delhi Police data, 281 people — 138 for selling and supplying firecrackers and 143 for bursting them — were arrested between 28 September and Diwali on November 4 last year. The number of cases also went down from the preceding year (2020) when 850 people alone were arrested on the day of Diwali (November 14).

Fewer cases registered due to stringency of punishment?

Ahead of the festival, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai had announced that bursting firecrackers in the national capital on Diwali would attract jail term up to six months and a fine of Rs 200. The production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the capital was made punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act.

Explaining the possible link between fewer cases registered and stringent provisions of cracker ban policy to The Federal, Supreme Court advocate Wills Mathews says even the police personnel don’t want to book someone under these provisions. As there is always a cultural symbolism attached to the practice (bursting firecrackers), the policemen usually go easy on violators. Instead of registering an FIR against them, the violators are let off with a warning.

Also read: Weather, not firecracker ban, helped Delhi’s air quality this Diwali

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) usually does not feature such offences on its records. They are listed under environment-related offences and seizures under the Arms Act, underlined Mathews.

Getting bail is not an issue

Mathews said that even if the police make arrest, getting bail in such cases is not very difficult. Although the stringent provisions included a jail term of maximum six months, the police generally try to avoid implicating people for flouting firecracker norms as the festival has a lot of cultural significance.

Such cases have summary trials because it is considered minor offence (in summary trials, cases are disposed of speedily as the procedure is simplified), explained the advocate.

Those violating the ban are mostly arrested under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by Public Servant), Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease danger¬ous to life) and Section 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life).

The difficulty in pursuing a case

Outlining the difficulty of following up on complaints made to the police control room, a police official in Delhi’s South District (CR Park sub-division), on condition of anonymity, said, “Once the complaint is received by the control room, it is sent to the respective local thana that falls within the jurisdiction of that particular district. The nearest PCR van is then directed to go to the spot to look into the complaint. On arrival, there have been a number of cases where we didn’t find anyone and no evidence is left behind for us to pursue the complaint. In such cases, the police can’t take any action. Therefore, there is always a mismatch between complaints received via the control room (oral complaints) and its conversion into arrest or trial.”

Also read: Delhi-NCR left gasping again as steps to check pollution find few takers

“People usually don’t register written complaints for such cases. The complaints are usually due to momentary disturbance caused by the sound of firecrackers,” the policeman said.

The larger cause

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson and former Laxmi Nagar MLA Nitin Tyagi told The Federal that the fight to ban firecrackers and curb pollution shouldn’t be given a political or religious colour. The AAP government had taken the decision to impose a blanket ban on the usage, production and storage of firecrackers after consulting various stakeholders, said the former legislator.

Due to the ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi, people bought it from the border areas and along the areas of the National Capital Region (NCR). Most firecrackers were brought from the neighbouring states. “We (citizens, government and the police) must ensure such violations are stopped, as in the long run it will benefit the masses,” said the AAP spokesperson.

Commenting on BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, who had challenged AAP government’s policy on firecrackers, Tyagi said such acts weaken our collective fight to curb pollution. “Although the issue is usually couched in cultural and age-old practices, we need to think in terms of its impact on the environment and our future generations,” he said.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had declined an urgent hearing of a plea filed by Tiwari challenging the Delhi government’s decision to ban the sale, purchase, and usage of firecrackers during festive season in the city.