No to CCTVs, yes to tips: Supreme Court allows Maharashtra dance bars to continue

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday modified some provisions of 2016 Maharashtra law imposing restrictions on licensing and functioning of dance bars in the state.

A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri quashed certain provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016. 

This move paved the way for their opening in Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra.

Here’s how the Supreme Court struck down stringent norms for dance bars in Maharashtra
 

• The top court repealed a provision mandating that Maharashtra dance bars should be 1km away from religious places and educational institutions, saying that it is ‘unreasonable’.
   
• The apex court also quashed a provision saying there must be a partition between barrooms and dance floor.
   
• The Supreme Court allowed the payment of tips to performers in the dance bars but said no to the showering of currency notes. 
   
• Citing privacy violation, the top court set aside the condition to mandatorily install CCTVs in the dance bars.
   
• The dance bars can only be functional from 6 pm to 11:30 pm.
   

The state government had previously ruled that only people with ‘good character’ should be allowed to obtain a dance bar license. However, the Supreme Court said that it is difficult to define ‘good character’.

The Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act prohibited women to dance in commercial establishments and had imposed as many as 20 restrictions which forced the industry to shut down.

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