Ban on dance bars LIFTED in Maharashtra… but Supreme Court warns ‘obscene

“The way Maharashtra government had put a blanket ban by sidelining all the rules, we were sure to win and that’s what Supreme Court has upheld our view today”, Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association member Manjit Singh Sethi said.

Over the past decade, the Maharashtra government, whether under the Congress Party or the Bharatiya Janata Party, has pressed for a ban on dance bars to protect the dignity of women and guard against prostitution.

The state is not in favour of regularising dance bars, but wants to ban them. “We will examine and press our demand in the apex court”, Fadnavis said.

He said despite such a situation, an ordinance was promulgated and later, it was converted into action after a bill to amend the Bombay Police Act was passed in both Houses of the state legislature. “We may hasten to clarify that in the earlier judgment, it has been clearly stated that sufficient power is vested with the licensing authority to safeguard any violation of the dignity of women through obscene dances”, said a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, while hearing a petition filed by Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association which challenged the controversial clause. The Association alleged that the ban is a political move to settle personal scores by various political groups.

Thus, the state government has plugged one loophole which had led its first initiative towards banning such establishments to be struck down.

“The dance bar ban was initiated by then home minister late R.R. Patil in 2005 and previous governments kept it in force despite many hurdles”. Rejecting the submission made on behalf of the state, that these restrictions were only additional regulations “to deal with problem of ever increasing dance bars”, the court observed: “It is a sad reflection on the efficiency of the licensing/regulatory authorities in implementing the legislation”.

July 2013: The South Carolina had allowed bars to employ women and entertain customers.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for bar owners, argued that the provision of the Act that was declared ultra vires earlier by the court has come back in the present incarnation, which is the same and, therefore, it deserves to be stayed. Elite establishments, including five star hotels, were exempted. On the flip side, Bhausaheb Andhalkar, a former inspector attached to Pune rural police, said, “When the dance bars were operational on the outskirts of Pune, mostly the city youths would travel to these bars”.

Welcome move by the Hon. “This may have been done deliberately”, he said. In 2005, Maharashtra was gripped with stories of common men turning into criminals after spending money at the dance bars.