Archive · 29 Sep 2026
Allahabad HC Bans Hookah Services in Uttar Pradesh Restaurants
The Allahabad High Court said restaurants in Uttar Pradesh cannot run hookah bars.
They also cannot provide hookahs inside special smoking areas.
The court said these areas allow limited smoking but do not allow restaurants to sell or serve hookahs.
It relied on a tobacco-control rule changed in 2017.
The judges said making, preparing and maintaining a hookah is still a service.
They rejected the idea that customers could simply prepare the hookah themselves.
They also rejected calling the arrangement a rental.
The court said clean air is a fundamental right for people who do not smoke.
It dismissed the petitions seeking permission to continue the services.
The Allahabad High Court barred hookah bars and hookah services in Uttar Pradesh restaurants, including designated smoking areas.
The court held that amended Rule 4(3) prohibits services in designated smoking areas under COTPA.
It said non-smokers’ fundamental right to breathe clean air cannot be overridden by commercial interests.
The bench rejected self-service and rental arguments, finding that preparing, delivering, lighting and maintaining a hookah constitute service.
The court dismissed the petitions, denied licensing authority to food and municipal departments, and upheld police enforcement powers.
- Who
- The Allahabad High Court, Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, and restaurants and establishments that filed petitions.
- What
- The court prohibited hookah bars and hookah services in Uttar Pradesh restaurants, including within designated smoking areas.
- When
- Tuesday, September 29; one report identifies the year as 2026.
- Where
- Public places and restaurants in Uttar Pradesh, India.
- Why
- The court held that hookah services violate Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, as amended in 2017, read with COTPA.
Petitioners’ Position
Allahabad High Court’s Position
Designated smoking areas
Petitioners’ Position
Restaurants argued that they should be allowed to facilitate hookah use in officially designated smoking areas.
Allahabad High Court’s Position
The court held that a designated smoking area is only a limited exception allowing smoking and does not permit commercial hookah services.
Self-service model
Petitioners’ Position
The petitioners proposed preparing and handing over hookahs so customers could use them without assistance from restaurant staff.
Allahabad High Court’s Position
The court said assembling, filling, covering, lighting and maintaining a hookah requires expertise and remains a service.
Rental model
Petitioners’ Position
The petitioners argued that supplying a hookah apparatus could be treated as renting equipment rather than providing a service.
Allahabad High Court’s Position
The court said mandatory consumption inside the designated area means the arrangement is a service, not an ordinary rental involving independent possession and control.
Commercial rights and clean air
Petitioners’ Position
The establishments relied on their right to conduct business and challenged restrictions that followed pandemic-era limitations.
Allahabad High Court’s Position
The court held that commercial interests cannot abridge non-smokers’ fundamental right to breathe clean air in public places.
- Court
- Allahabad High Court
- Jurisdiction
- Uttar Pradesh, India
- Bench
- Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary
- Relevant law
- Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003
- Relevant rule
- Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, amended in 2017
- Court’s interpretation
- The amended rule prohibits any service in a designated smoking area
- Petition outcome
- All connected petitions were dismissed
- Licensing and enforcement
- Food and municipal authorities cannot issue hookah-bar licences; police retain COTPA enforcement powers
