Allahabad, Sep 1 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government not to permit bars, restaurants and cafes to serve hookahs in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

A bench comprising justices Shashi Kant Gupta and Shamim Ahmed passed the order on a letter, treated as a PIL, by a Lucknow University LLB student who had argued that hookahs might aid the spread of coronavirus.

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After considering the facts stated in the July 7 letter and examining the documents attached therein, the court on July 22 decided to treat it as a petition for writ (PIL).

The letter stated that prima facie smoking has emerged as an independent risk factor not only for transmission of COVID-19 but also its severity. Similarly, hookah smoking is also prima facie an ideal mode to transmit and facilitate the spread of the contagion through shared use, it said.

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In its order issued last week – which was uploaded on the court's website Tuesday -- the bench observed that coronavirus cases are increasing day by day.

“…and in case public places such as Restaurants & Cafes are not restricted from serving Hookah with immediate effect, there might be chances of vast community spread of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh,” it observed.

“In view of the above, we issue a direction to the Chief Secretary, State of Uttar Pradesh not to permit the Bars, Restaurants & Cafes to serve Hookahs until further orders of this Court, with immediate effect.”

The court said the Chief Secretary shall file his response and a compliance report by the next date of hearing on September 30 through a personal affidavit.

The court appointed advocate Vinayak Mithal as an Amicus Curiae in the matter to assist the court.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)