Hookah cannot be served even in designated smoking areas in Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad High Court rules

29 September 2026

A Bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary dismissed a batch of connected petitions filed by hookah bar operators and restaurants.
The court held that Rule 4(3) of the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, as amended in 2017, prohibits any service being provided in a designated smoking area, which bars the serving of hookah.
The rules are framed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, generally called COTPA.
The petitioners had argued their right to trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The Bench said the right of a non-smoker to breathe clean air in a public place is a fundamental right that cannot be abridged by commercial interest, reading it with Article 21.
The effect of the ruling is that hookah bars cannot operate anywhere in Uttar Pradesh.