Mumbai, November 27: Hookah parlours from Mumbai and Pune moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government's ban imposed on them. In a petition filed by the owner of Carnival restaurant of Pune, he has questioned the ban on hookah parlours as cigarettes and Bidis which have higher nicotine level are not prohibited. Meanwhile, the high court has asked the state to file its affidavit till December 17. A bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice M.S. Karnik was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by owners of hookah parlours.

On October 4, the Maharashtra government brought into effect a statutory amendment to the present Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition) Act (COTPA) of 2003 that prohibits Hookah parlours/bars in the state. The state government has introduced a punishment of up to 3 years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh for the violation of the law. In the earlier notification, the offender would be fined Rs 1 lakh, but in the fresh notification, the government also introduced three years of jail term.

With the imposition of this ban, Maharashtra becomes the second state after Gujarat to ban hookah parlours. As per reports, after Kamala Mills fire incident in December last year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis insisted on a blanket ban on hookah parlours. In that incident, 14 people lost their lives due to suffocation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 27, 2018 08:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).