Mumbai dance bars back in action; SC upholds Bombay HC order

The apex court vacated six-year old interim stay on running of dance bars in the state

Its finally an end to a long saga for thousands of bar dancers, as dance bars are set to reopen after seven years of ban.The Supreme Court has today upheld a Bombay High Court verdict quashing the state government's 2005 order.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S S Nijjar also vacated its stay order on implementation of the high court judgement.

The Maharashtra government had in 2005 brought in an amendment in the Bombay Police Act, which was challenged in the High Court by an association representing restaurants and bars.
    

The High Court in 2006 had quashed the government's decision. The state government had moved the apex court against the High Court's order that same year.

The Supreme Court while admitting the government's plea had stayed the High Court's verdict.

In its plea, the state government had argued that prostitution rackets were being run under the garb of beer bars and indecent and vulgar performances, "derogatory to the society" were taking place.

The government had also contended that while there were only 345 licenced dance bars, about 2,500 unlicenced bars were doing business in the state.

On the other hand, various organisations representing dance bars, restaurants and bar girls had argued that the preamble of the Bombay Police (Amendment) Act, 2005, which had been struck down by the high court as unconstitutional, holds that dance performances for public amusement were permissible.

These organisations had also submitted that there were over 70,000 women engaged in dance bars and several of them had already committed suicide due to unemployment and financial crunch.

They had said that with as many as 72% of the bar girls being married and 68% being sole bread earners of their family, the state government's order has rendered them jobless and had been rightly struck down as arbitrary and unconstitutional by the high court.

They had also contended that the impugned section of the Act was arbitrary and discriminatory as it permitted dance performances at places visited by the rich and well-to-do sections of the society while performances in small dance bars had been banned.

Dance bars with women dancers and male patrons became a hit in the late 90s and had become a regula fix in most bollywood movies that involved a plot around the underworld. The 2001 film, Chandni Bar directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and potrayed by Tabu depicted the gritty life of the Mumbai underworld, including prostitution, dance bars and gun crime.

But today's order does not mean that all bars can re-open automatically.Dance bar owners will have to seek a fresh licence from the state govt to re-open their bars.