Another winter, another courtroom drama, another promise of 'continuous hearings' till January 21. Delhi-NCR's AQI sinks, and CAQM walks in asking for two months like the city has spare lungs. The bench is right to say 'stop blaming farmers' and to demand source attribution, because heavy vehicles, construction dust, waste burning, and power plants are not invisible. But weekly hearings can turn into a ritual that makes everyone feel busy while nothing changes on the roads. The easy counter-argument is 'courts shouldn't micromanage', and yes, judges can't police every construction site. Still, when an agency created under the CAQM Act, 2021 cannot even state proportions, the executive has forfeited the right to ask for silence. Los Angeles cut smog by squeezing tailpipes and industry, not by holding endless meetings, Delhi can learn that. Put numbers on the table, then hit the biggest contributor first, even if it angers lobbies and border states. If CAQM returns with another bland status note, treat it as contempt, not paperwork, this is a governance screw-up.