Hookah bars in UP restaurants illegal, no service allowed in smoking zones

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow Bench on Tuesday held that hookah bars being operated inside restaurants are illegal and cannot be permitted.

Dismissing a batch of writ petitions filed by restaurant and hookah bar owners, the court held that following the 2017 amendment to Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, no service whatsoever is permissible inside a designated smoking area (DSA).

The petitioners had argued that they had created separate designated smoking areas in compliance with the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), and that hookah smoking should therefore be allowed.

The court rejected the contention, observing that hookah smoking inherently requires commercial service, preparation, assistance and supply of the hookah, flavour, coal and other materials at the table. Such services are prohibited under the amended rules, it said.

Under the amended Rule 4(3), a DSA can only be a separate enclosure meant for customers to smoke on their own. No service is permitted inside the area, including a waiter entering to serve water or food, the court said. The provision is intended to protect non-smokers and staff from exposure to passive smoking.

Since hookah smoking cannot take place without active service and preparation by the establishment, it violates the conditions governing a DSA, the court held.

The High Court said operating hookah bars under the guise of designated smoking areas amounts to a clear violation of COTPA and the rules. It consequently dismissed all the writ petitions and upheld the ban on hookah bars in restaurants.

The judgment provides legal clarity on the operation of hookah bars in restaurants in Uttar Pradesh and allows authorities to take action against establishments found violating the provisions.