With a view to assisting the judiciary and police in curbing the menace of illegal operations at hookah bars, a few hookah bar owners in the city have formed an association.
With a view to assisting the judiciary and police in curbing the menace of illegal operations at hookah bars, a few hookah bar owners in the city have formed an association and moved an application in the Gujarat high court, seeking to be a party to the suo moto proceedings against the illegally run hookah bars in the city.
Over a dozen hookah bar owners have come forward to curb the illegal activities of some entities in their fraternity. “We have formed an association with the aim to cooperate with the government authorities to curb illegal activities,” said a member of the Hookah Bar Owners’ Association. “We do not want to be targeted because of the scrupulous activities of others in the business,” he added.
Only five hookah bars in the city have the official license to run their business. Others are either compelled to shut down or are running their bars illegally. “We will obey all the guidelines issued by the police commissioner, and will also inform them of any illegal activities we come across,” the member said.
A division bench of the high court, comprising chief justice KS Radhakrishnan and justice Akil Kureshi has granted permission, and has posted further hearing in the case till June 26. The high court had started the suo moto cognizance against hookah bars in the city after some media reports informed of the illegal activities in these places.
The hookah bar association, formed recently, had moved an application on Monday, seeking to join the suo moto proceedings through their counsel Nandish Chudagar. In its application to the court, the association contended that the city police commissioner has issued another notification on May 14, adding eight more conditions to the previous one issued on December 2, 2005.
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