A day after the Supreme Court (SC) modified a few provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016, state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said his government was considering a review petition or even a fresh ordinance to regulate dance bars.
On Friday, Mungantiwar said the state will consult legal experts and the law and judiciary departments to decide the next course of action regarding dance bars. Speaking in Chandrapur in Vidarbha, Mugantiwar said, “The court order will be thoroughly studied and the decision over further course of action will be taken. If the need be, we will issue an ordinance.”
However, officials said that since the SC has allowed most of the provisions in the 2016 act regulating dance bars, neither a review petition nor a fresh ordinance were likely to serve any purpose.
Previously, two amendments were made to the Mumbai Police Act – designed to ban dance bars –by the previous Congress-led government. “Not only were the amendments quashed twice between 2006 and 2013, but also contempt notice was issued to the then home minister. Instead of going for review, the government should be able to convince the people about the success,” said an official, pointing out that the 2016 act has been upheld by the SC.
“Of the 39 rules under the act, only five to six have been touched upon by the court. In such a scenario, there is no question that a review of the order will achieve anything,” said an official from the law and judiciary department. Another official said that bringing an ordinance for certain measures – such as making closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the bars mandatory – amount to contempt of court. “If the government thinks that filing review petition will help it to buy some time or help pacify the people who are opposed to dance bars, it won’t work. By filing a review petition, it would not get any relief from the order as the apex court is unlikely to stay its order. The review petition is unlikely to be admitted,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Of the 39 rules under the act, only five to six have been touched upon by the court. In such a scenario, there is no question that a review of the order will achieve anything,” said an official from the law and judiciary department. Another official said that bringing an ordinance for certain measures – such as making closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the bars mandatory – amount to contempt of court. “If the government thinks that filing review petition will help it to buy some time or help pacify the people who are opposed to dance bars, it won’t work. By filing a review petition, it would not get any relief from the order as the apex court is unlikely to stay its order. The review petition is unlikely to be admitted,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Officials from the home department are also of the opinion that the act in its present form makes it difficult to open and run a dance bar. They pointed out that three licenses were granted over the past three years because the SC had intervened, but none of the dance bars could operate. “There are many stringent conditions – including fire safety norms, size of stage, prohibition in residential building, operation timing – that may prove to be deterrents. The government may take at least three to four months to decide on distance of bars from religious and educational institutions,” said a home department official.
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