Expressing concern over Mumbai’s worsening air quality, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday said it was “shocking” that the city was surpassing Delhi in pollution levels, while pulling up civic, pollution control and police authorities over the lack of enforcement of orders to curb noise and air pollution during festivities.

Questioning how officials responsible for implementing the measures could have a “peaceful sleep” despite an “emergency” in which lakhs of people were suffering the ill-effects of pollution, the court warned that officers could be held accountable for dereliction of duty.

The court observed that the police machinery was “extremely slow” in implementing its orders, including those mandating the display of licences for sound systems used during processions and a complete ban on bursting firecrackers on public streets during festivities.

The HC cited an incident on Tuesday in south Mumbai , where firecrackers were burst on busy streets in front of a police station near Crawford Market,…