Kochi, Nov 3 (PTI) No crackers shall be burst in religious places at odd times as there are no commandments in any of the holy books that mandate the bursting of crackers to please God, the Kerala High Court said on Friday.

Banning the use of crackers, Justice Amit Rawal directed the police chiefs of all districts of the state to conduct raids at religious places and seize the "illegally stored crackers."

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Justice Rawal, in his order said, the violation of the court order will initiate contempt proceedings.

"I thus direct the Deputy Collector with the Assistance of the Commissioner of Police, Cochin and other districts, to conduct raids in all religious places and take into possession of the crackers illegally stored in all religious places and issue instructions that henceforth onwards no crackers shall be burst in religious places at odd times as prima facie there is no commandment in any of the holy book to burst crackers for pleasing the God," the order read.

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The petitioners have sought the intervention of the court for preventing the bursting of the crackers in all the religious places situated in Kerala.

"This fact is not denied by the learned counsel representing the respondents as well as the fact that even this court had also heard the noise of the crackers even after midnight," the court said.

The petitioners contended that explosive licences are being issued by the District Collector under Explosive Rules and many of the temple holders, except few, are not having any licences.

The court directed the state government to submit a report on the matter and posted it for further hearing on November 24.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)