The central legal point established in the judgment is the court's authority to issue directions to safeguard public health and enforce compliance with laws and regulations related to the sale and consumption of tobacco and liquor.

Arun Tandon and Mrs. Sunita Agarwal, JJ. –

Let the Senior Superintendent of Police, Allahabad, Nagar Nigam, Allahabad through its Commissioner, and the Allahabad Development Authority, Allahabad through its Chairman be impleaded as respondents no. 5, 6 and 7 during the course of the day.

2. Notice on behalf of Senior Superintendent of Police, Allahabad has been accepted by the learned Standing Counsel. Notice on behalf of Nagar Nigam, Allahabad has been accepted by Shri Vivek Varma, Advocate and Shri A.B. Paul, Advocate has accepted notice on behalf of Allahabad Development Authority.

3. At the very outset we record our appreciation for the public cause espoused by Pranvesh, a 5 year Law Course student of University of Allahabad, by means of this Public Interest Litigation.

4. The facts recorded in the writ petition reflect that the shops in the shape of temporary/permanent structures are being run at every nook and corner of the city of Allahabad for selling tobacco and tobacco products both to the minors as well as the persons aged above 18 years without any fear/restriction. It is the case of the petitioner that such consumption of tobacco and tobacco products (including cigarette etc.) is a health hazard specifically for the minor children. Photographs appended along with the petition depict that such stalls (temporary/permanent) are standing just in front of the school gate.

5. The other issue highlighted in this petition is that under the provisions of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (herein after referred to as the 'Act, 2003'), advertisement of tobacco and tobacco products is prohibited. In order to overcome to the said prohibition, the manufacturers of tobacco and tobacco products have adopted a novel method. The advertisements put by the manufacturers in the print media and visual media are camouflaged in a manner to suggest that they are promoting products which do not contain tobacco, when as a matter of fact products with identical name and identical packing containing tobacco are available in the market manufactured by the same manufacturers. Thus the real intent is to advertise the product containing tobacco.

6. By way of an example, the petitioner has produced before us the samples of sachets/pouches of various products of the same manufacturers. There is hardly any difference apparent to the naked eye as to which of the sachet/pouch contains tobacco and which of the sachet/pouch does not contain tobacco. The samples of sachets/pouches of pan masala/chewing tobacco produced before this Court, are kept on record.

7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that such misleading advertisements must be stopped in order to achieve the purpose of the prohibition imposed under Section 3 of the Act, 2003.

8. It has also been asserted that the sale of tobacco goes uninterrupted, all around the school boundaries as also around the Public institutions especially High Court/District Court. The State and its machinery are deliberately keeping silence in such a serious matter causing grave health hazard for the public at large in the City of Allahabad. Chewing of such tobacco cause another nuisance of spitting on the roads, walls and floors both inside and outside the public institutional buildings like High Court/District Court resulting in un-hygenic conditions in and around the work place.

9. Although it has not been pleaded in the writ petition but it has been stated before us that what is true about the tobacco and cigarettes is equally true about the liquor shops which are being run almost at every crossing in the City of Allahabad. All the counsels present in the Court, who are more than 70 in number, unanimously stated that the liquor shops supply/sell liquor to rich young, adolescents and aged people in the like manner in their parked car for consumption at a public road/road patris. Minor child