Lucknow: Allahabad high court on Tuesday ruled that restaurants, cafes and other public places cannot serve hookah to customers even in designated smoking areas, holding that such activity was prohibited under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act and the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules.
It noted that following the 2017 amendment to the Rules, the expression “any other service” was replaced with “any service”. This makes it clear that preparing a hookah, filling it with tobacco, placing coal on it, delivering it to a customer or replacing the coal would all amount to providing a service, the court said. A Lucknow bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice A K Chaudhary passed the order while dismissing a bunch of petitions filed by restaurant and hookah bar owners. The petitioners had sought permission for restaurants holding valid food establishment licences to serve hookah in designated smoking areas and protection from police interference in their business. The court held that a designated smoking area is only a limited exception to the prohibition on smoking in public places and does not permit any service to be provided there. The court also clarified that the Food Safety Department and municipal authorities have no power to issue separate licences for operating hookah bars. At the same time, police have the power under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act to conduct searches, seize articles and take penal action to ensure compliance with the statutory restrictions. The court directed that a copy of judgment be sent to UP chief secretary and DGP for compliance.