Supreme Court pulls up Maharashtra govt for not granting licence to dance bars

Hearing a plea on dance bars in Mumbai, the Supreme Court today observed that it is "better to dance than to go to streets for begging or earning livelihood through unacceptable means."

 "We are treating it as a performance of art...mindset cannot be to prohibit," a bench presided by Justice Deepak Misra observed.

The Maharashtra government had suspended the licences of hundreds of bars and hotels that featured women dancing to Bollywood tunes in 2005. But after several appeals over the years against the ban, the Supreme Court ordered the state to issue licences from March 15 on condition that certain rules are adhered to.

But despite the Supreme Court's nod, dance bar associations say, the Maharashtra government has made it "impossible" to get licences.

About 139 bars and hotels in Mumbai, and about 1,200 in the state, are applying for licences, according to an industry lobby. Of those in Mumbai, 39 have been inspected till date but not given clearance. Four of them were initially given licences only to be withdrawn later - four policemen were suspended for granting them permission.

The Supreme Court today asked the Maharashtra police to verify within one week antecedents of dance bar owners and workers to allow for them to get licences. It has also asked the Maharashtra government to verify whether the conditions which had been approved by it are being adhered to.

The Maharashtra government, which opposes dance bars on the grounds of obscenity, had proposed more than two dozen conditions for new licences but the Supreme Court rejected some of them, including requiring a live stream to police stations.

Instead, closed-circuit televisions will be installed at the entrance, with a limit of four dancers per bar, a railing around the performance area, and a distance of at least 5 feet (1.5 m) between the stage and customers.

According to the new conditions, dance bars must be at least a kilometre from any education or religious institution, their timings restricted between 6pm and 11.30pm, and liquor not to be served in the performance area.

The bill also bans running bars in the residential buildings and permits them in semi-residential ones only if the three-fourths residents consent.

The bill also has a provision to repeal amendments to Section 33 (A) of the Maharashtra Police Act that were earlier struck down by the Supreme Court.