A group of traders moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking a modification of its October 9 order that banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region until November 1, PTI reported.

The traders said that they had renewed their licences after the temporary relaxation of the 2016 ban in September, when the bench had said that a complete ban would be “extreme” and stressed the need for a phased reduction in the use of fire crackers. So, the merchants said they had procured firecrackers to sell during Diwali.

The lawyer representing the traders said that a lot of money had been invested in this, and that the court’s latest order would cause them huge losses.

A bench of justices told the traders that they would consult the judge who passed the order, to place their application for urgent hearing.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had said it wanted to use the ban to assess the difference in air quality in the highly polluted region. While crackers are not the only contributors to the pollution menace in the Capital, the ambient air quality had deteriorated by over three times the average levels the morning after Diwali in 2016.

The ban elicited various reactions from people. While some welcomed the decision and said the ban should be extended to the whole of India, several others argued that the decision was a great example of judicial overreach.

Diwali will be celebrated on October 19 in Delhi and the NCR.