In detail, the complainant argued that hookahs had a „long history“. Reliable theories suggest that it was invented in medieval India. Since then, it has been used not only in India, but also in other parts of the world. The Chamber also decides whether the order violates Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which concerns the right to exercise a profession or to exercise a profession, trade or enterprise. The case was brought to the Leela Verma Supreme Court by lawyers Raj Kumar Gupta, Ashish Gupta, BS Bajwa and Abhishek Kharab against the UT District Magistrate`s order against the hookah service. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioned a study from health and legal experts to formulate the ban policy. „We are waiting for the experts` report because we have to consider all the legal implications before concluding the policy. Based on this report, we will soon take appropriate action,“ said K.V. Trilok Chandra, BBMP Special Representative (Health). Tripathi said smoking is prohibited by law in public places and restaurants and bars are also considered public spaces, hookah service has been banned by the Delhi government. The court also ordered the Delhi government to file its affidavit on the petition challenging an order issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs dated August 3, 2020, banning the use of hookah with or without tobacco in public places due to the pandemic.
„Subject to the filing of an undertaking by the applicants, the defendant (the Delhi government) will be prevented from interfering with the herbal pipe service until the next hearing date,“ the judge noted. „In the event of a change in the Covid-19 situation, the defendant is free to move the court,“ she added. Delhi`s Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the use of plant-based hookah in restaurants and bars in the capital. However, it is important to note that the court has allowed the use of hookah for the time being. The court said at sentencing that coronavirus containment cannot continue at the expense of livelihoods. Read also – Men cook chicken and smoke hookah on a boat in Triveni Sangam, police are looking for them | The judge said the order, which allows the plaintiff to serve herbal shisha plants, is in effect until the next hearing date. The court clarified that it had granted permission to serve the plant-based hookah as an interim measure, and that it was conditional on the applicants agreeing at the time to strictly adhere to COVID-19-appropriate conduct when serving herbal hookah. Currently, municipal companies have issued licenses for hookah bars in hotels where there is a separate smoking area. Once the ban goes into effect, civil society will revoke previously issued licenses and there will be a complete ban on hookah bars, sources said. The court said why this order should not be reviewed in relation to the hookah ban while Delhi police have also started testing breath analysis.
Separate petitions have been filed by Breath Fine Lounge and Bar, TOS, R High Speedbar and Lounge, Verandah Moonshine and Sixth Empirica Lounge in West Punjabi Bagh challenging the order of the Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing Unit) prohibiting and excluding the sale or service of herbal flavoured hookahs in a restaurant or bar they operate. Several restaurants and bars have filed various appeals against the ban on the sale or sale of herbal flavored hookahs in the capital. Judge Rekha Palli said bans imposed due to Covid-19 „cannot last forever“, saying authorities had previously operated cinemas and swimming pools at full capacity. Read also – Greater Noida: the owners of the Restro Bar of the shopping center Ansal Plaza Under 3 Hero for illegally serving shisha The Delhi government had stated in its affidavit filed in this series of petitions that „the nature of the hookah mechanism increases the risk of transmission of the virus“ and that smokers infected with COVID-19 can spread the virus by floating contaminated aerosol particles in the air. Authorities typically use Section 144 (Unlawful Assembly) of the CrPC to shut down hookah bars. [41] Governments also use COTPA. The state government formulates a policy to ban hookah bars throughout Karnataka, which are more numerous in Bangalore, Mysuru and Mangaluru. However, many unauthorized hookah bars have proliferated, especially in Bangalore, and many of them have become places of drug abuse, police sources said. „In many hookah bars, people use ganja and other psychotropic substances instead of tobacco.
While some of these hookah bars are allowed, most of them are not. We searched and closed several of these illegally operated locations. We can`t go to every shisha bar and check what they smoke. It is better that they are banned,“ a senior police official said. Press Trust of India: The Delhi government told the Delhi Supreme Court on Wednesday that herbal pipe service in bars is allowed subject to compliance with COVID-19 protocol and other relevant conditions. The Supreme Court has issued a notice asking the Delhi government to respond to five different requests from restaurants and bars to order the state and police not to interfere with the sale of herbal flavored hookahs or take enforcement action against them. On 12 July 1999, Kerala became the first Indian state to ban smoking in public places, when a divisional bench of the Kerala High Court declared that „for the first time in the history of the whole world, smoking in public is illegal, unconstitutional and violates Article 21 of the Constitution“. The Chamber, headed by Judge K.
Narayana Kurup, noted that „smoking“ in public places (in the form of cigarettes, cigars, bees or others) „falls under the nonsense of the criminal provisions relating to public nuisance contained in the Indian Penal Code, as well as the definition of air pollution contained in the laws for the protection and preservation of the environment. in particular the Air (Pollution Prevention and Control) Act 1981. Delhi government lawyer Santosh Kumar Tripathi told Justice V Kameswar Rao that the case of the applicant, a restaurant and bar owner, who is challenging the ban on operating herbal pipes, is covered by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority Order of February 4, which allowed bars and restaurants to operate at 50 percent capacity. On November 11, the court, taking into account the order of the Ministry of Health, ruled that COVID-19 restrictions could not continue at the expense of livelihoods and allowed the sale and service of herbal pipes. The nationwide smoking ban did not prohibit hookah consumption in hookah bars. However, several cities in India have banned hookah consumption in hookah bars. Police raids are usually aimed at punishing hookah bar owners and operators, not patrons. Guests are usually fined, while owners face hefty fines and/or jail time.
It is still legal to buy hookahs in stores and consume them at home. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana will decide whether the order issued by the UT District Magistrate against hookah smoking in hotels, restaurants, taverns and bars is unlawful, without jurisdiction, contrary to the principle of natural justice, unconstitutional and non-binding. As a reminder, the Delhi Supreme Court had asked the AAP government in September why its order banning the use of herbal hookah in public places to curb the spread of COVID-19 would not be reviewed while respiratory tests are now allowed. Judge Palli added that bars and restaurants would commit to serving only herbal hookah under strict coronavirus protocols. Read also – Delhi restaurants can continue to charge service fees up to…: High Court issues opinion The lawyer explained that the applicants must commit to the court strictly following COVID-19 appropriate behavior when distributing herbal hookah under the court`s order issued in November last year. The applicant M/S Punter House Cafe, represented by lawyer Anubhav Singh, argued that the authorities interfering with the sale and service of herbal flavoured hookahs in restaurants are violating Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. Natural tobacco with just 0.05% nicotine was used in a traditional hookah that had no tar content. Instead of lighting the tobacco directly, the hookah was equipped with a cup containing water that removed the harmful elements from the smoke thus produced. Anti-smoking advertisements must be shown at the beginning of the film and during intermission. In addition, in every scene where one smokes, a disclaimer must be displayed on the screen.
[26] Saurabh MalikTribune News ServiceChandigarh, March 2 „Tobacco is widely regarded as one of the greatest threats to public health and is directly or indirectly responsible for about eight lakh deaths per year in the country. It has also been found that the treatment of tobacco-related diseases and the resulting loss of productivity costs the country nearly Rs 13,500 crore per year, which more than offsets all the benefits derived from the tobacco industry`s income and jobs. The Supreme Court in Murli S Deora vs. Union of India and Ors. recognized the harmful effects of smoking in public as well as the effects on passive smokers and, in the absence of legal provisions at the time, banned smoking in public places such as lecture halls, hospital buildings, health facilities, educational institutions, libraries, courthouses, public offices, public transport, including railways. [7] In 2007, Chandigarh became the first city in India to become „smoke-free“.