The Maharashtra legislature has approved a bill to plug the legal loopholes that allowed dance bars to operate illegally—by using licences for live music performances or orchestra.
Back in 2005, the then Congress-NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) government had banned dance bars. The move was seen as a brainchild of the late deputy chief minister and home minister R.R. Patil.
The ban was struck down by the Bombay High Court in 2006, and the Supreme Court upheld this in 2013. In 2015, the Supreme Court, while upholding the right of bar dancers to follow their profession, directed the Maharashtra government to grant licences to these establishments. The state, however, imposed 26 stringent conditions before allowing the opening of dance bars, which was challenged by their association.
In 2016, the state legislature unanimously approved the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act, 2016. The draft bill had been examined by an all-party committee of legislators.
Among the stringent conditions under the new law were that dance bars be located at least 1 km away from educational institutes and religious places, not operate in residential areas, run from 6 pm to 11.30 pm only, and prohibit smoking.
The bill now to amend the Maharashtra Police Act and the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants, and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act was tabled by Pankaj Bhoyar, minister of state for home (rural).
Bhoyar said the number of dance bars had declined after 2016. However, provisions for licences for orchestras and live music under the Maharashtra Police Act were misused, and the state government had received complaints in this regard. The provisions of this law lacked teeth to allow crackdown on violations, he said.
Bhoyar said orchestra licences would now be granted under the Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants, and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act to allow action in case of obscene dances and other violations. For instance, obscene dances would invite a fine of Rs 25 lakh and/or imprisonment of up to five years.
The statement of objects and reasons of the new bill states that it has been observed that to evade restrictions imposed on dance performances in hotels, restaurants or bar rooms under the 2016 Act, licences for live music performance (orchestra) granted under the Maharashtra Police Act were being used.
To curb this practice, the government considers it necessary to bring live music performances within the purview of the 2016 Act and exclude licences for live music performances (orchestra) in hotels, restaurants or bar rooms from the purview of the Police Act. It has, therefore, sought to amend relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act and Prohibition of Obscene Dance Act.
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