The Madras High Court has directed the Commissioner of Food Safety and the Chennai Police, among others, to respond to a petition by a restaurant here seeking a ‘hookah’ licence.
Separate area
Drizzle Restaurant at Neelangarai said it was running a ‘hookah’ bar in a separate area. As there was no legal provision for regulation of such bars, it submitted an application in March last year to the authorities for an amendment in the licence, allowing it to run the facility along with the restaurant bar.
The Chennai Corporation issued a notice, citing an order of the Commissioner of Food Safety. The import of the order was to ban the sale of tobacco in the form of food substances. However, that order was not being challenged as it had expired on May 23 this year.
The restaurant said the hookahs served by it were merely a blend of herbal leaves with scented syrup usually extracted from semi-dried fruits. The mixture was placed in an earthen shell over which a piece of burning charcoal was placed.
Even under the Tobacco Prohibition Act, only the Centre was empowered to make rules for manufacture, supply and distribution of tobacco. This being the case, the police were disrupting the business by regularly visiting the premises in large numbers.
When the matter came up before Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, Additional Government Pleader P. Sanjai Gandhi took notice.
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