COVID: Allahabad HC asks eateries not allow customers hang around, have food in open

Passing the guidelines for restaurants and other eateries, a division bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar said in case a customer misbehaves and does not listen to the owner, a complaint can be lodged with police, who will be duty bound to take action. No eatery shall allow its customers to hang around their premises and have food in the open, the court said hearing a PIL related to coronavirus.

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday directed that all restaurants serving food on their premises should ensure social distancing while asking eateries not to allow their customers hang around or have food in the open. Passing the guidelines for restaurants and other eateries, a division bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar said in case a customer misbehaves and does not listen to the owner, a complaint can be lodged with police, who will be duty bound to take action.

No eatery shall allow its customers to hang around their premises and have food in the open, the court said hearing a PIL related to coronavirus. In addition to it, no customer/individual should be seen without a mask within five yards of every eatery, the court directed. "If any customer/individual is seen without a mask or having food within five yards of an eatery, then suitable action would follow. Besides, no roadside eateries and open air restaurants shall sell potable water," the court directed, adding that restaurants serving food on their premises should ensure social distancing. No person should be allowed to throw any used plate, spoon or glass near an eatery, the court said. The HC bench said the eateries having a business of over Rs 5,000 a day should install CCTV cameras.

"All eateries will make arrangements for selling their food articles in tightly packed or sealed boxes," the court added. The HC, however, said the guidelines will not be a permanent feature but will remain operational for a period of six weeks from the passage of the order. The court said the guidelines with regard to mask manufacturing should be framed as per the instructions issued by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). "Likewise, guidelines with regard to the manufacturing of sanitisers shall also be issued by the state government in accordance with the ICMR rules," the court directed.