India, Oct. 16 -- Three days before the Supreme Court's permitted three-day sale window for "green firecrackers" officially opens on October 18, Delhi's markets are already crackling with the sound and colour of the banned goods. Across the Capital and its satellite towns, traders and street vendors are openly selling firecrackers - traditional and of the so-called green variety -with little fear of scrutiny, and to heavy demand.

An on-ground spot check by HT across key markets in Delhi - Sadar Bazar, Jama Masjid, Naya Bazar, Lajpat Nagar, Netaji Nagar, and Greater Kailash - and parts of Gurugram and Noida found that the court's guidelines are being flouted in plain sight. Crackers are being sold under the guise of being "green," a label...