firecrackers

The Supreme Court is close to banning the sale of firecrackers in Delhi, as it today said it will soon pass an order prohibiting the licensing authority for the sale of firecrackers from issuing new licenses. It will also ask the authority to suspend existing licenses and to recall the existing stock of firecrackers with sellers.

In Arjun Gopal vs UOI filed in the Supreme Court, the three infants, all residents of Delhi, have sought the immediate intervention of Supreme Court against the inevitable and upcoming widespread use of firecrackers and fireworks and other products of the same classification, especially during the festivals of Dussehra and Diwali. The Supreme Court, their petition says, is bound under Article 32 to take interim steps in effectuating the people’s right to clean, healthy and breathable air under Article 21.

There was a fire yesterday in Amarchand Mangaldas’ Hyderabad office of around 20 people. No one was injured in the fire and no documents were lost, said Amarchand Mumbai senior partner Vandana Shroff.

The fire did not start in Amarchand’s office and the cause was still being investigated, she said. Staff has now temporarily moved to a business centre.

Update: Hat-tip to commenter for a link to a story in The Hindu about the fire: It started at 5am from an educational consultancy and spread to other floors.