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Throwing money at dancers against their dignity, says Supreme Court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to examine the validity of a new law the Maharashtra government has brought in to regulate dance bars, but stuck to
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to examine the validity of a new law the Maharashtra government has brought in to regulate dance bars, but stuck to its stand on disallowing customers from throwing money at dancers.
“It’s difficult to treat this (ban on throwing money) as unconstitutional. Prima facie we do not find any illegality in this provision, which shows respect towards the dancer,” a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra told the counsel for the dance bar owners who moved the apex court.
“This (dance bar) is not a silver screen. It (permitting monetizing) affects someone’s dignity, culture and decency,” the two judges told senior advocate Jayant Bhushan, who said the rule — effected by the state government four months ago — was discriminatory because it did not stop anyone from tipping a singer or a bar tender.
Justice Misra and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh issued a notice to the government on the bar owners’ petition against the law that prescribes five years of jail if dance performances turn “obscene”, but does not clearly define the term. The law defines “obscene dance” as a one “designed only to arouse the prurient interest of the audience”.
The apex court rejected the Maharashtra government’s request to relegate the fresh petition to the state’s high court. Doing that will test the validity of the rules in the view of SC’s 2013 verdict that declared the government’s move to ban dance bars as “unconstitutional”, it said.
The court also indicated that it will not let the government implement rules that made it mandatory for the bar owners to install CCTVs and stopped them from serving liquor in the dance area.
