On Wednesday, the Allahabad High Court held that operating hookah bars cannot be claimed as a fundamental right under the Constitution, observing that the State is fully empowered to restrict such activities in the interest of public health. The observation is likely to impact hookah bar operators across Uttar Pradesh who had approached the Court challenging closure orders and denial of licences for their establishments.
The dispute reached the Lucknow Bench after several hookah bar operators questioned administrative measures taken against their businesses, including the refusal of licences and shutdown orders. The Petitioners argued that running hookah bars was protected under the constitutional right to carry on trade and business.
However, the State opposed the plea by pointing to the public health risks linked to tobacco and nicotine consumption through hookah services. The matter also revived concerns previously raised during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the High Court had prohibited hookah bars over fears of infection spread.
The Division Bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai held that activities involving tobacco and nicotine consumption cannot be treated as unrestricted business rights. The Court observed that hookah bars pose “a serious threat to public health” and can therefore be regulated in the same manner as liquor and gambling-related activities.
Emphasising the State’s responsibility to protect public health, the Bench ruled that the government has complete authority to impose restrictions on such establishments and declined to interfere with the administrative action challenged before it.
Source PTI
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