SC judge recuses himself from hearing Mumbai Dance bar case

Justice Rohinton Nariman, one of the Judges in the Supreme Court bench, on Friday recused himself from the Mumbai Dance Bar case as he had appeared in the earlier round of litigation on behalf of Maharashtra.

On January 17, the apex court resumed its hearing of the Mumbai dance bar case, where, the bar owners have challenged the stringent norms regulating the bars.

The Maharashtra government has justified the need for these restrictions to ensure the safety and dignity of women, working in these establishments.

The apex court had earlier, on September 21, 2017, ruled that three dance bars in Maharashtra, with proper CCTVs can continue operating.

A division bench of the top court, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and Justice C Nagappan passed this order.

Meanwhile, on August 30, the apex court had issued a notice to the Maharashtra Government over a new law for dance bar licenses and asked it to reply within six months.

Dance bar owners have objected to the restriction of maintaining a kilometer distance from any religious or educational structure, claiming it was not possible in big cities.

They claimed that another curb of shutting down the bars before 11.30 pm is discriminatory when the Central Government was promoting round-the-clock business by commercial establishments.

The Maharashtra Government's counsel Shekhar Nafade had, however, said that they would fight the objections at the next hearing, as the government had every right to frame rules in the interest of society.

The apex court had in May directed the Maharashtra Government to grant licenses to eight dance bars within two days and asked them to give an undertaking that they would not engage employees with criminal antecedents near the dance area.

The Dance Bar Regulation Bill, which was unanimously passed by the Assembly on April 13, among other things, prohibits serving liquor in performance areas and mandates that the premises must shut by 11.30 pm.

It also imposes heavy penalties on dance bar owners and customers for not following these rules.

The apex court had on March 2 rejected certain suggestions like providing live CCTV footage to police of performances in the dance bars and asked the state government to grant licences to owners within 10 days after they comply with the modified guidelines.