The Delhi High Court allowed the use of herbal hookahs in the capital on Tuesday, subject to strict Covid-19 regulations and the use of disposable pipes. The court stated that when the cinema has opened and all other activities have resumed, it is inappropriate to suspend the petitioner.

In the interim order, Judge Rekha Palli stated that if there is any change in the Covid-19 situation, the city government can apply to amend the Tuesday order. Palli gave the Delhi government six weeks to submit a response.

In late October, the Delhi government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), opposed a number of requests from bars and restaurants, and requested the High Court to approve the sale and provision of herbal-flavored waterpipes. The government quoted orders from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that allowing the sale and consumption of waterpipes may increase the risk of Covid-19 transmission.

"According to the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, waterpipe smoking includes multiple hands touching waterpipe and close contact between fingers and lips, which increases the possibility of the virus spreading from hand to mouth. Therefore, it is allowed to smoke herbal medicine in open spaces Waterpipes may worsen the situation and increase the spread of COVID-19," the government told the High Court.

The government also told the court that bars, restaurants and restaurants have not obtained separate permits to sell herbal hookahs and classify them as “food”. The government stated that it is totally unreasonable to regard herbal waterpipe as a food.

Breath Fine Lounge and Bar, TOS, R High Speedbar and Lounge, Verandah Moonshine and West Punjabi Bagh’s Sixth Empirica Lounge filed several petitions that challenged the joint police commissioner (licensing department) to ban and exclude sales or restaurants they operate / The bar provides herbal shisha service.

The petitioner claimed that although the herbal water pipe did not contain tobacco, the police were still conducting raids, confiscating equipment and issuing salons. They asked the court to issue instructions to the Delhi government and the Delhi police not to interfere with the sales and services of herbal-flavored waterpipes, nor to impose compulsory measures on them.

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