'Smoking Areas Cannot Permit Hookah Trade': Allahabad HC Bans Hookah Services In UP Restaurants
Allahabad, September 29, 2026: The Allahabad High Court has held that hookah bars cannot operate in Uttar Pradesh and restaurants cannot provide hookah services even in designated smoking areas. A Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary dismissed a batch of connected petitions concerning the operation of hookah bars and provision of hookah services in restaurants. The…
Allahabad High Court bans hookah services in restaurants and designated smoking areas across Uttar Pradesh. The court ruled that hookah bars and restaurants cannot provide hookah services, even in designated smoking zones, citing the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008 and the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.
The High Court emphasized that the right of non-smokers to breathe clean air in public places is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court rejected arguments that restaurants could adopt a self-service model or that supplying a hookah apparatus amounted to renting equipment. The court also clarified that authorities like the Food Safety Department and Municipal Corporation cannot issue licences for hookah bars.
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