Cracker Bursting Time Checker
Check the legal firecracker bursting hours for your state this 2026 Diwali. Free, embeddable timing checker based on Supreme Court and state rules.
Short answer:
- No Indian state allows unrestricted bursting; every state defaults to certified green crackers only, inside a fixed window.
- Most states run one two-hour evening slot, commonly 8–10 pm; Delhi-NCR and Tamil Nadu add a short morning slot too.
- Delhi-NCR's 2025 window (6–8 am and 8–10 pm, 18–21 October) was a dated Supreme Court exception, not a standing rule for future years.
- Four Bihar cities, over a dozen Haryana districts, and two Punjab towns sit under a full local ban regardless of the national green-cracker default.
How to use it
Pick your state in the table below and read off its bursting window and any full-ban pocket that overrides it. The tool above does the same lookup interactively, but the table is the complete, sourced answer on its own — no script required. Bursting-hour notifications get renotified close to each festival, so treat this as your latest-verified check, not a fixed law you can bank on year after year.
State-by-state bursting window
| State / UT | Bursting window | Full-ban override |
|---|---|---|
| [Delhi-NCR](/buy-crackers-online-in-delhi) | 6–8 am and 8–10 pm, 18–21 Oct only (2025 court order) | None during the window; online sale stays banned |
| [Tamil Nadu](/buy-crackers-online-in-tamil-nadu-state) | 6–7 am and 7–8 pm | None statewide |
| [Karnataka](/buy-crackers-online-in-karnataka-state) | 8–10 pm, two designated Diwali days | None statewide |
| [Telangana](/buy-crackers-online-in-telangana-state) | 8–10 pm on Diwali | None statewide |
| [Andhra Pradesh](/buy-crackers-online-in-andhra-pradesh-state) | 8–10 pm on Diwali | None statewide |
| [Maharashtra](/buy-crackers-online-in-maharashtra-state) | 8–10 pm on Diwali | Street/footpath vending banned in Mumbai and Pune |
| [West Bengal](/buy-crackers-online-in-west-bengal-state) | 8–10 pm Diwali, 6–8 am Chhath Puja (default years) | Calcutta High Court has repeatedly ordered a total ban some years, later narrowed by the Supreme Court |
| [Bihar](/buy-crackers-online-in-bihar-state) | Green-only window, hours set locally | Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur: complete ban, green crackers included |
| [Punjab](/buy-crackers-online-in-punjab-state) | 8–10 pm, Diwali and Gurpurab | Jalandhar and Mandi Gobindgarh: full ban |
| [Haryana](/buy-crackers-online-in-haryana-state) | Restricted hours outside banned districts | 14 districts incl. Faridabad, Gurugram, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonipat: sale and purchase banned |
| [Uttar Pradesh](/buy-crackers-online-in-uttar-pradesh-state) | Green-only where air quality permits | Any district recording "poor" or worse AQI: use, sale and purchase banned |
Last verified: 2026. Full source citations, court order dates, and the legal reasoning behind each row live on the state cracker rules tracker.
Why the window isn't the same everywhere
The Supreme Court's 2018 judgment set one national floor — green crackers only, no barium, no joined crackers. State pollution control boards then fix the actual clock on their own seasonal notification, which is why Tamil Nadu's two short slots look nothing like Karnataka's single evening one even though both call themselves "green-only." An AQI trigger from the NGT's 2020 order can tighten a state's default further mid-season, which is why Uttar Pradesh and Haryana's bans expand or shrink with the pollution reading rather than the calendar. The full legal stack behind every window on this page, cited to the underlying court orders, is on firecracker laws in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my state's window change every year?
Yes. Bursting hours and full-ban lists are typically renotified by each state close to its main cracker-bursting festival, so a window that held last Diwali isn't guaranteed to repeat unchanged. Check the state cracker rules tracker for the latest verified pass before you buy or burst.
Is Delhi-NCR's morning-and-evening window a permanent rule now?
No. The Supreme Court's order permitting 6–8 am and 8–10 pm bursting was dated and time-boxed to 18–21 October 2025 only, issued after the region had been under a complete ban. Each Diwali season needs its own check against that year's order.
Can I burst crackers outside my state's listed window if I bought them legally?
No. The window applies to bursting, not just sale — buying a certified green cracker doesn't exempt you from your state or city's fixed hours, and full-ban pockets like the Bihar cities and NCR-adjacent Haryana districts override the window entirely regardless of what you're holding.
What's the noise limit even inside the legal window?
125 dB(AI) measured 4 metres from the bursting point, unchanged by which state or window you're in — see the firecracker decibel comparison for how that compares across categories.
Related tools: full tools index · low-noise picks on firecracker decibel limits · plan your box on the diwali box planner.
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