The Supreme Court on Friday (November 6, 2026) termed measures like banning vehicles and construction to curb air pollution in the national capital as “old, tried and failed tools”.
“For us, it is either ‘severe’ and ‘very severe’. ‘Very poor’ is normal. The poorest sections of the population, who cannot afford the splurge, often bear the worst consequences. Justice V. Mohana suggested awareness campaigns as a desperate measure to reign in the toxic air. “Change should be a public movement. No restrictions are going to work. The more the court passes orders, the more there would be violations. That is the tendency of people,” Chief Justice Kant observed.
We are already touching 400. Let us not talk about a utopia where the AQI would become 100 or less,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi, on the three-judge Bench, addressed the CAQM. The exchange in open court happened merely hours before the national capital graduated to GRAP-III restrictions with the air quality index rising over 400.
The court said the “commodification and commercialisation” of Deepavali by affluent, status-driven people has worsened air pollution. Chief Justice Kant said no orders from the court could possibly clear the thickening smog unless the public decided to mend their ways. The judge said people need to revert to the “original customs and cultural practices” around Deepavali.
The court agreed to pass directions, and list the case after the Deepavali vacations.
