The ban was overturned by the Bombay High court in 2006, and later in 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the Bombay HC’s decision. However, in 2014, the state government again banned the bars by an Ordinance – which the Supreme court found “unconstitutional” in 2015.
New Delhi/Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Thursday relaxed some stringent measures imposed by the Maharashtra government through a law in 2016 banning dance bars in Mumbai. In 2005, due to the Maharashtra government ruling to ban dance bars, as many as 700 bars shut shop across Mumbai.
The ban was overturned by the Bombay High court in 2006, and later in 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the Bombay HC’s decision. However, in 2014, the state government again banned the bars by an Ordinance – which the Supreme court found “unconstitutional” in 2015.
A bench headed by Justice A. K. Sikri upheld the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act, 2016 but scrapped or diluted many of its provisions.
The court removed the requirement of a partition between the dancing area and the bar/restaurant area and the ban on serving alcohol in the dance area. The requirement of applicants to have “good character” with no history of a criminal record was also struck down.
The SC order allows tips for dancers but prohibits showering money on them. Dance bars can operate between 6 pm and 11.30 pm. The court also struck down the rule requiring them to install CCTV cameras inside, on the grounds that it violates privacy.
The court-mandated written contract with employees, deposit of the remuneration in their bank accounts, and submission of the contract with the licensing authority. The employment need not be monthly and could be based per performance.
The court also mitigated a condition by which dance bars could not be within 1km of an educational institution or a religious place.
“This amounts to fulfilling an impossible condition and the effect thereof is that, at no place, in Mumbai, the licence would be granted. Therefore, this condition is also held to be arbitrary and unreasonable and is quashed, with liberty to the Maharashtra govt to prescribe the distance from educational and religious institutions, which is reasonable and workable,” the 100-page order said.
State govt hellbent on a blanket ban
In an in-depth report by Firstpost, The Supreme Court order was clearly no deterrent for the government which has set its heart on imposing a blanket on these establishments.
“Even the various associations who have been fighting the subsequent litigation over the past argued in court that the government seems to be acting from the intent of circumventing successive court orders. Hotel and restaurant owners argued that the state government adopted an attitude that it will not permit operations of dance bars irrespective of the orders passed by the apex court,” the report said.
On Friday, PTI reported that the Maharashtra government is considering bringing an ordinance to stop their operations. “In the interest of people and for saving the cultural fabric of the state, we will not hesitate in bringing an ordinance to stop dance bars from operating. Once we receive the written orders of the court, our lawyers will study it and based on their recommendations, we will bring an ordinance in the next two weeks, making changes and strengthening the existing law,” Minister for Finance and Planning Sudhir Mungantiwar said.
Various media reports also stated that the government was reviewing dead provisions within existing laws to heavily restrict the operations of these establishments. A report in DNA quoted an unnamed source in the home ministry as stating that the nitty-gritty of the law will be used to the hilt. He said that an old provision of a mandatory liquor permit — a colonial-era provision which has an abysmally low rate of implementation — for consuming alcohol will be implemented to discourage people from visiting these places. He further said that if there were over 10 people working in a dance bar including waiters and bar girls, then the owner would be bound by labour laws and the Shops and Establishment Act, meaning they can’t hire or fire dancers at will and they must maintain work contract, provident fund and gratuity for their employees.
Since most performers prefer pseudonyms and like to maintain their anonymity, if the aforementioned laws are indeed enforced, it will make it excruciatingly difficult for these establishments to oblige to these laws, the Firspost report said.
However, the DNA report also quoted a lawyer who opined that such lofty expectations about implementing dead law are unlikely to thwart reopening of these institutions. “The local police are corrupt and hand-in-glove with dance bars owners. They will help bars run despite the government’s intentions,” Jitendra Patil, a Bombay High Court lawyer told the newspaper.
Zee News also quoted government sources to report that the state administration is planning to come up with a new rule under which the customers will have to reveal their identity to the local police for entering these establishments. However, whether or not this move stands legal scrutiny, if challenged, is quite another matter. The Supreme Court has struck down government’s proposition to mandatory installation of CCTV within these bars, stating that violated citizens’ privacy.
Earlier, the government had claimed that dance bars are breeding grounds for anti-social elements in the state. Going by the government’s argument, over 700 dance bars were operating in Mumbai and adjoining areas before the prohibition imposed by the government. It was also claimed by the government that only 307 bars were operating with legal permit and rest were nothing but a threat to society, the Firstpost report said.
The bar owners oppose this stand of the government, stating it violates their right to earn a livelihood. ” Activist Varsha Kale said over 75,000 women were employed in dance bars when the state government decided to shut them down in 2005 for allegedly promoting obscenity. While over 40,000 women left the profession and took up other jobs for livelihood, around 35,000 were still working as waiters and singers in various hotels, she claimed.