The Karnataka High Court on Monday upheld ban on Hookah imposed by the state government. The high court had reserved judgment in March on a batch of petitions challenging a government notification banning the sale, consumption, storage, advertisement and promotion of all types of hookah products within Karnataka.
A single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna today pronounced verdict and rejected all the petitions challenging the ban.
The notification by Karnataka government recognised hookah bar as a cause of fire hazards. These hookah bar were seen against fire control and fire safety laws. The notification said that hookah in hotels, bars and restaurants makes food items unsafe for public consumption and may adversely affect public health.
Whoever, violates the said notification, will be booked under COTPA (Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act ) 2003, Child Care and Protection Act 2015, Food Safety and Quality Act 2006, Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015, Indian Penal Code and Fire Control and Fire Protection Act.
The petitioners had contended in the high court that the ban violated fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 and Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. It was said that permitting cigarette tobacco and banning hookah tobacco will indirectly give licences to sellers of cigarette tobacco, thus violating the rights of hookah tobacco.
The ban was also opposed by petitioners claiming to sell 'herbal hookah' on grounds that there product could not be banned as it does not have tobacco or nicotine.
The petitioners also argued that the Constitution provides for regulating intoxicating drinks and drugs, but hookah is not an intoxicating drink or a drug. They said that there was no reports of any fatal incidents from Hookah consumption.
Other states that have banned hookah bars include Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. These states have issued explicit notifications/orders/advisory to prohibit hookah bars.