The Supreme Court on Monday demanded an “immediate” response from the Delhi government and police to the ban – which seems to exist on paper only – against firecrackers during Diwali, a ban that is announced, and ignored, every year, resulting in a suffocating blanket of toxic air smothering the national capital and surrounding regions for days after the festival is celebrated.

The court issued notice to the Delhi government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party, and the police, which reports to the Union Home Minister, to explain steps taken to implement and enforce the ban this year, as also measures for the next to “enforce a complete ban” on firecrackers.

“There are widespread news reports the ban on firecrackers (in Delhi NCR) was not implemented at all… this was supposed to be an important measure to reduce pollution,” Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih said this afternoon, as they continued a long-running (and annual) hearing into the air quality crisis that consumes Delhi every year.

“What is the order (on banning of firecrackers) … how is it being implemented… something has to be worked out,” the court asked the Delhi government, and tasked it with creating a mechanism “at least for next year” to ensure Delhi doesn’t choke on aerial pollutants in 2025.

On Monday morning the air quality index, or AQI, in Delhi plummeted across the city, even four days after Diwali, to the ‘severe’ category. The AQI reading fell past the 400-mark (on a scale of 500) in many neighbourhoods, including Anand Vihar, Rohini, Ashok Vihar, and Vivek Vihar.

Even the more affluent areas – such as Lodi Road – were not spared the toxic blanket.

The 24-hour average AQI, as of 7am, was 373 – almost as bad as it was Sunday, when it hit a season-worst of 382. That these readings came despite a decrease – by 15 per cent – in the contribution of farm fires to toxic pollutants in the air only underlines the problem at hand.

The situation in the NCR region also remained concerning, with Noida at 305, Ghaziabad at 295, and Gurugram at 276. High AQI levels were also recorded in nearby states, including Haryana’s Hisar (372), and Sriganganagar (397) and Bharatpur (320) in Rajasthan.

Several Kerala cadre IAS officers were added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Mallu Hindu Officers,’ reportedly created from the number of IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan, who claimed his phone was hacked. The group, seen as contrary to secular principles, prompted a police complaint and investigations by intelligence agencies.

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Delhi government and police, demanding an explanation for the ineffective enforcement of the Diwali firecracker ban. The court highlighted the severe pollution levels in the city, surpassing even the previous two years, and requested detailed reports on the measures taken to implement the ban and curb stubble burning in neighboring states.