Spitting In Food: Uttarakhand's New Guidelines Include Rs 1 Lakh Fine On Offenders

The Uttarakhand government has issued guidelines aimed at curbing the incidents of “spitting in food” with fines reaching up to Rs 1 lakh.

The guidelines were issued by state police and health departments after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami referred to such acts as “thook (spit) jihad,” vowing strict measures against offenders.

The newly issued guidelines stipulate that police verification should be conducted for staff working at hotels and dhabas, and the installation of CCTV cameras in their kitchens is now mandatory.

This comes after two men were arrested recently in Uttarakhand's Mussoorie for allegedly spitting into fruit juice glasses before serving them to tourists.

In another incident, a viral video from Dehradun showed a cook allegedly spitting while preparing dough for rotis.

Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat emphasised that ensuring food safety and purity are top priorities for the government, particularly during the festival season.

Following the Chief Minister’s strict warnings, Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar issued guidelines to district police chiefs to tackle such issues.

The guidelines advise district police to collaborate with local intelligence units to prevent incidents in open areas like kiosks and pushcarts.

The guidelines also call for a complete verification of employees in hotels and dhabas, and encourage business managers to install CCTV cameras in kitchens.

The police are also asked to pay special attention to these issues during patrolling and collaborate with the Health and Food Department for random checks at hotels and dhabas.

The DGP said that offenders should be charged under Section 274 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for food adulteration and Section 81 of the Uttarakhand Police Act for public nuisance or spreading false alarms, Hindustan Times reported.

Additionally, if such acts are found to harm religious, ethnic, or linguistic sentiments, relevant sections like 196(1)(B) (promoting enmity) or 299 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (insulting religious beliefs) should be applied.

State health secretary R Rajesh Kumar also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) mandating strict fines for offenders, ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

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