Realising the gravity of the situation and considering the adverse effect of smoking on smokers and passive smokers, we direct and prohibit smoking in public places and issue directions to the Union of India, State Governments as well as the Union Territories to take effective steps to ensure prohibiting smoking in public places, namely:
(1) Auditoriums
(2) Hospital buildings
(3) Health institutions
(4) Educational institutions
(5) Libraries
(6) Court buildings
(7) Public offices
(8) Public conveyances, including railways
Learned Attorney-General for India, assured the court that Union of India shall take necessary effective steps to give wide publicity to this order in electronic as well as print media to make the general public aware of this order of prohibition of smoking.
We further direct the registrar-general, to intimate the State Governments/Union Territories as well as the commissioners of police as mentioned in our orders dated 31-8-2001 and 28-9-2001 of this Court with directions for submission of their compliance report in this Court within five weeks from today. Union of India shall also file its response at the earliest.
Source: M A Rashid, Supreme Court Guidelines and Precedents
