The state government will soon bring in a new law to regulate dance bars. Instead of banning the dance bars, the new Act will aim at ensuring that there is no obscenity or vulgar dancing in bars.
The state government will soon bring in a new law to regulate dance bars. Instead of banning the dance bars, the new Act will aim at ensuring that there is no obscenity or vulgar dancing in bars. The bill will define dance bars, as well as obscenity. The government is likely to table the bill in the ensuing Budget session, which will start on March 8. The decision was taken after the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the state government to comply with the modified guidelines in three days and issue the licences within 10 days therefrom.
Immediately after the SC order, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “State can’t permit obscenity, it has been seen in the past in dance bars. We will approach the honourable Supreme Court with an alternative. The state government is also contemplating moving a suitable legislation in the legislature (sic).”
Dr Vijay Satbir Singh, principal secretary of home, confirmed that a draft bill has been prepared, but the government is consulting the concerned legal authorities before finalising it. “The new law will not ban dance bars as it has already been set aside by the Supreme Court. We will also study today’s SC order and incorporate the apex court’s suggestions in the bill,” he said.
Dr Singh further said that the government is trying to table the bill at the earliest and it could be done in the Budget Session this month itself.
“The bill will define a ‘dance bar’. This was never done in the past. Apart from that, the definition of ‘obscenity’ given the Indian Penal Code will incorporated in the bill as its main objective is to prevent any obscene or vulgar dances in bars,” Mr Singh said.
In August 2005, the then Congress-NCP government had moved a bill to amend the Maharashtra Police (Amendment) Act, 2005 in the state Assembly. All political parties unanimously supported the move to shut down dance bars in the state, claiming it gave rise to vulgarity and was leading to more crimes in the state. The apex court had, in 2009, struck down the law saying that banning dance performances was unconstitutional. After that, the state government passed another law in 2014 that had imposed a total ban on dance bars and dance performances. However, the SC in October last year stayed the provisions banning dance in bars and directed the state government to grant licences to the bar owners, and also asked it to take steps so that the individual dignity of a woman is not affected and there is no room for any kind of obscenity in dance bars.
