Breaking: There Cannot Be A Total Prohibition Of Dance Bars In Maharashtra;SC Relaxes Stringent Conditions For Licence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that there cannot be a total prohibition of dance bars in Maharashtra. The Bench has also relaxed the stringent conditions imposed by the Government for getting license for dance barsThe two Judge bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was delivering Judgement in a batch of petitions filed by various bar owners and 'Bharatiya Bargirls Union' challenging the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016. In short, the bench upheld Section 2(8) of the Act. Section 8(4) of the Act was upheld with riders. It struck down Section 6(4) of the Act as unconstitutional and also quashed Rule 3(3) (i) framed under the Act. Various other conditions were quashed, while some where upheld. Obscene Dance Definition Not Vague [Section 2(8) upheld] It was contended before the court that the definition of obscene dance in Section 2(8) is expanded beyond Section 294 of the IPC by specifically including following forms of dance: i) which is designed only to arouse the prurient interest of the audience; and (ii) which consists of a sexual act, lascivious movements, gestures for the purpose of sexual propositioning or indicating the availability of sexual access to the dancer, or in the course of which, the dancer exposes his or her genitals or, if a female, is topless;. The court said that 'prurient interest' in the context of dance performance would be a performance which has or which encourages an excessive interest in sexual matters. The bench observed that 'a dance which is aimed at arousing the prurient interest of the audience is not a vague term incapable of definite connotation.Discotheque/Orchestra and Dance Bars Can Be On Same Place [Section 6(4) Unconstitutional] The court quashed the provision (Section 6(4) of the Act) which forbids grant of licence for discotheque or orchestra where licence for dance bars is granted. The court rejected the justification that the purpose is to put stringent licence conditions for dance bars, which would not be possible if discotheque or orchestra as also on the same place where there is a dance bar.Penal Provision Upheld [Section 8(2)]It was contended before the court that whereas the Indian Penal Code prescribes imprisonment up to three months (for obscenity acts), the prescription of imprisonment up to three years in Section 8(2) of the Act is violative of Article 14 and is in conflict with the IPC. Rejecting the said argument, the bench said: "Where a hotel, restaurant, bar room or any place is used for staging dances without obtaining a licence under Section 3 of the Act, that is made a punishable offence. However, even if licence is obtained, that would not mean that place can be used for obscene dance performances or for exploiting working women for any immoral purpose. It is these acts which are made punishable under sub-section (2). In this manner, the offence under Section 8(2) is somewhat different from the offence that is stipulated in Section 294 IPC." Ban on throwing of money etc. upheld, but can handover money to dancers personally [ Section 8(4) upheld with riders] The court upheld the provision insofar as it prohibits throwing or showering of coins, currency notes or any article or anything which can be monetised on the stage. The court said such acts aims at checking any untoward incident as the aforesaid Act has tendency to create a situation of indecency. "Therefore, whatever money, any appreciation of any dance performance, has to be given, can be done without throwing or showering such coins etc", the court said. The bench added that there may not be any justification in giving such tips only by adding thereto in the bills to be raised by the administration of the place. The court added: "On the contrary, if that is done, the person who is rightful recipient of such tips may be denied the same. Further, State cannot impose a particular manner of tipping as it is entirely a matter between an employer and performer on the one hand and the performer and the visitor on the other hand. We, therefore,. However, handing over of the notes to the dancers personally is not inappropriate. We also set aside the provision of giving the tips only by adding the same in the bills." "Good character" too vague a term [Rule 3(3)(i) quashed] The bench quashed the rule that a person is entitled to obtain or hold licence who possesses a 'good character' and 'antecedents' and he should not have any history of 'criminal record' in the past ten years. It said: "The terms 'good character' or 'antecedents' or 'criminal record' are not definite or precise. These expressions are capable of any interpretation and, therefore, it is left to the wisdom of the licensing authority to adjudge whether a particular person possesses good character or good antecedents or not. Likewise, insofar as history of criminal record is concerned, it is not...

Breaking: There Cannot Be A Total Prohibition Of Dance Bars In Maharashtra;SC Relaxes Stringent Conditions For Licence

Ashok Kini

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