← 13 October 2026's Current Affairs · Polity GA Prelims ★★★★☆ Mains ★★★☆☆
Supreme Court on firecrackers: balance religious sentiment with public health
बातमीत का?
Faith versus lungs: the Article 21 vs Article 25 clash behind the Supreme Court's firecracker curbs
While hearing restrictions on firecrackers, the Supreme Court has urged a balance between religious sentiments and public health.
Why it matters: factual, Prelims-type
What you need to know
2 मिनिटे
While hearing restrictions on firecrackers, the Supreme Court has urged a balance between religious sentiments and public health.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the religious basis for bursting firecrackers.
The Chief Justice cautioned that restrictions which cannot be enforced on the ground are of little use and said people should be educated to reject harmful varieties.
स्रोत: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
महत्त्वाची तथ्ये
Remember these
- Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the right to a pollution-free environment and health.
- Article 25 guarantees freedom of conscience and the free profession, practice and propagation of religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
- In the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the religious basis for bursting firecrackers.
- The Chief Justice cautioned that restrictions which cannot be enforced on the ground are of little use and said people should be educated to reject harmful varieties.
- Air pollution control in India is governed by the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
पूर्व · मुख्य
How the exam will ask it
पूर्व
- The right to a pollution-free environment has been read into Article 21 by judicial interpretation of the Supreme Court.
- Article 25 freedom of religion is not absolute: it is subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of Part III.
- Article 51A(g) makes it a Fundamental Duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment.
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 empowers the Central Government to take measures to protect and improve environmental quality.
मुख्य
GS-II (Judiciary) and GS-III (Environmental pollution). The issue is the clash between religious sentiment under Article 25 and the right to health and a clean environment under Article 21, with Article 25 itself subject to public order, morality and health. Courts have balanced the two through restrictions on firecrackers, but the Chief Justice's remark shows that unenforceable bans fail. The way forward is stronger enforcement against manufacture and sale, promotion of less harmful alternatives, and public awareness so that people themselves reject harmful varieties.
Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
The Supreme Court has held that the right to a pollution-free environment and to health forms part of which Fundamental Right?
- Article 19(1)(g)
- Article 21
- Article 25
- Article 14
उत्तर पहा
उत्तर: B — Article 21 is the answer: the Supreme Court has interpreted the right to life to include the right to a pollution-free environment and health, which is why firecracker curbs are weighed against religious freedom under Article 25.
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