HYDERABAD: Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court reiterated that flavoured hookah could not be served without complying with mandatory statutory requirements under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTP Act).
The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by the proprietor of Silver Spoon Cafe at Madhapur, alleging police interference in running its hookah services. The petitioner contended that the cafe possessed trade licences and that preventing hookah operations was violative of the right to carry on business under the Constitution.
The state argued that the petitioner was supplying flavoured hookah mixtures without satisfying statutory requirements, including labelling norms, disclosure of nicotine content, and approvals mandated under the COTP Act. It was contended that unlabelled and untested mixtures could not be legally served.
The judge observed that flavoured hookah mixtures containing tobacco could not be permitted for public use without certification and statutory compliance and noted that similar restrictions were upheld in earlier cases.
While declining to grant blanket protection to the cafe, the judge referred to precedents in earlier writ pleas and granted liberty to the petitioner to apply for requisite permissions within one week. The judge directed the authorities concerned to consider any such application strictly in accordance with the COTP Act and applicable municipal and police licensing norms.
Plea Questions Building In Uppal Industrial Land
Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ plea challenging the GHMC and the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) for allegedly permitting and approving illegal construction on industrial land in Uppal. The judge was hearing a writ petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Federation of Telangana.
The petitioner alleged that the GHMC and TSIIC failed to exercise due diligence and allowed construction in violation of allotment conditions and statutory obligations.
According to the petitioner, the respondent authorities abused their official position by approving construction on land earmarked exclusively for industrial purposes and thereby caused loss to the state exchequer.
It was alleged that the construction was sanctioned without verification, constituting arbitrary and illegal action in violation of natural justice principles. The petitioner sought directions to immediately halt further construction, cancel the permits, demolish the structure, and resume the land for violation of allotment conditions. The judge directed the respondents to file their response.
Govt Staffer Gets Relief In Assault Case
Justice Juvvadi Sridevi of the Telangana High Court quashed criminal proceedings pending against a government employee, holding that he was falsely implicated in a land trespass and assault case. The judge was dealing with a criminal petition filed by Thota Raghu Vishnu Kumar, who sought quashing of the case on the file of the Principal Judicial First-Class Magistrate, Shadnagar.
According to the prosecution, the accused allegedly trespassed into the land of the complainant in March 2021, erected fencing, abused the complainant and her mother-in-law, and assaulted the complainant with a stick, resulting in the registration of a case under the IPC.
The petitioner contended that he was not present at the scene of offence at any point during the alleged incident, as he was undergoing mandatory training at the Bandlaguda tahsil office for all of March 2021.
Taking note of the authenticated attendance records produced by the authorities, the judge held that the petitioner could not have participated in the alleged offence and that continuation of prosecution would amount to injustice.
“Since the material placed establishes that the petitioner was not present at the scene of offence and was in continuous official training during the relevant period, the proceedings against him are liable to be quashed,” the judge observed.
