Dance bar ban: M'rashtra to move SC

The state govt will appeal in the apex court against Bombay HC's decision.

The Maharashtra government would appeal in the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court's decision to revoke the ban on dance bars across the state, Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil informed the state Legislative Council in Mumbai on Thursday.

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The ban had come into effect from August 15 last year.

The Division Bench of the HC, comprising justices FI Rebello and RS Dalvi, while lifting the ban on Wednesday, stayed its operation for eight weeks to enable the state government to appeal in the SC.

Making a statement in the House, Patil, who initiated the ban, said the court had observed that while dancing at pubs and discotheques and three and five star hotels was permissible, banning performance of dancers was 'discriminatory and in violation of law'.

Patil said the court had observed that women should either not be given the jobs of waitresses or should be allowed to dance at these bars.

Patil said the 257-page ruling of the court would be studied in detail and help of legal experts sought on the issue.

Patil, who also holds Home portfolio, said over 23,000 cases had been registered against 307 dance bars in the state during the last five years on charges like operating beyond stipulated hours, obscenity and prostitution.