An eating house licence does not automatically
include permission to serve hookah or herbal hookah, the Bombay High Court said
while refusing relief to a suburban restaurant facing revocation of licence for
serving herbal hookah.
A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and R N
Laddha in its order dated April 24 noted that hookah cannot be one of the items
being served in a restaurant where children, women and elderly visit for
refreshments or food.
"This would amount to an absolute nuisance in
so far as an eating house is concerned. Further, if this is to be a reality,
the impact it would create on such customers at the eating house can just be
imagined," the court said.
It further observed that if every eating house in
the city was permitted to provide hookah, then it would result in a
"situation beyond one's imagination" and would be "totally
uncontrolled".
The bench was hearing a petition filed by one Sayli
Parkhi challenging an April 18, 2023 order passed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation (BMC) stating that the eating house licence granted to her
restaurant 'The Orange Mint' would be revoked/cancelled if it continues to
serve hookah/herbal hookah.
The civic body's claim was that the restaurant was
using flame or burnt charcoal for the herbal hookah activity, which was
endangering public safety and putting customers' lives at risk.
The court, while refusing to stay the BMC's order,
said the restaurant has been rightly prevented from undertaking hookah
activities.
It noted that this was not a case of a pure hookah
parlour, but was a case wherein licence has been granted for an eating house
and this would not include hookah activities.
It further observed that the civic body and its
commissioner were not expected to keep a continuous vigil on the hookah
trade/activities of the petitioner, including her claim about its herbal
ingredients.
"Once it is clear that hookah activities are
not part of the eating house licence conditions, such activity cannot be
permitted," the court said, adding that the grant of a licence to operate
an eating house does not include permission to conduct hookah activities.