The Supreme Court relaxed some laws for dance bars in Maharashtra that were 'banned' in 2005 after the government sought to "prevent immoral activities, trafficking of women and to ensure the safety of women in general". On Thursday, the apex court said that there can be regulations but not total prohibition on dance bars in the state. "From 2005 till date, not a single person has been given licence (for dance bars). It cannot be done. There can be regulations but it cannot amount to total prohibition," the bench said while pronouncing the judgement.
The Supreme Court set aside some provisions of a 2016 law that imposed restrictions on their licensing and functioning. The apex court bench headed by Justice AK Sikri, however, laid down some riders. For instance, tips to performers are allowed but showering them with money is not. The apex court also quashed some provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016, including mandatory installations of CCTV cameras. The bench said that such a move violated privacy.
Additionally, the court said that the rule that a dance bar must be located at least 1 km away from religious places and educational institutions is unconstitutional. It also quashed the law that said that there must be a partition between bar rooms and dance floor.
The bench, however, upheld the provision restricting the timing of operation of dance bars from 6 pm to 11:30 pm.
The battle between the state government and such establishments is pretty long-drawn. It all started in 2005 when the government decided to ban dance bars, leading to the shutdown of as many as 700 dance bars across Maharashtra. The fight was then taken to the Bombay High Court that ruled that such a law violated right to equality and right to practice any profession. The next step in the case was Supreme Court that also upheld the Bombay High Court's verdict.
After that the state government amended the Section 33A of the Maharashtra Police Act in 2014 to impose a total ban on dance bars. The government argued that dance bars were obscene and acted as a pick-up point for innocent girls. Additionally, a bill that was passed in the Assembly prohibited the sale of liquor in areas where performances took place.
Following this, a PIL was filed by the Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association along with other organisations that pled the apex court to declare the amended 33A as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court noted that the state government re-enacted a similar legislation despite the earlier one being struck down.
On January 11, 2017, the apex court directed the Maharashtra government to expeditiously decide the pending applications for licences to open dance bars under the old rules and the directions issued by the court from time to time.
(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya; with PTI inputs)
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