HC quashes ban on dance bars

State to approach Supreme Court

The Bombay High Court today struck down the state government's decision to ban dance bars in the state. Quashing the amendment to the Bombay Police Act, justices F I Rebello and Roshan Dalvi ruled the ban as void.

The state government has, however, been allowed to let the bar licences remain suspended for eight weeks; it has been allowed to appeal in the apex court within this time.

The petition challenging the state government move was filed by the Mumbai Hotel and Bar Owners' Association, Dance Bar Girls' Association and others. The ban was implemented by the government on August 15, 2005.

Pravin Agrawal, treasurer of the Bar Owners' Association, said bars with valid licences would reopen tonight.

In response to the decision, the state government said it would appeal against the decision before the Supreme Court.

However, the two judges on the division bench differed on the fine print, citing different reasons as to why the ban was void in the eyes of law. Rebello observed that such discrimination was unreasonable and not in the public interest and, hence, void.

He said, in the judgment, the objective of the Act was to prevent dances which were obscene, vulgar or immoral and derogatory to the dignity of women. But if this was the case, then how could they be allowed in certain establishments such as five- and three-star hotels and clubs, he observed.

In a separate judgement, justice Dalvi expressed contrary views while squashing the ban.

Dalvi observed that the fundamental rights of the citizen were paramount and, therefore, dancers and bar owners were entitled to carry on with their trade and profession with reasonable restrictions of law.

Dalvi also referred to reports given by different academic institutes and non-governmental organisations pointing out that the percentage of minors working in these dance bars was small and it could not be a reason for banning the bars.

The court also found that there was no substance in the allegation made by one of the petitioners, Manjit Singh Sethi, president, Mumbai Dance Bars Owners' Association, against the state deputy chief minister, R R Patil, that he was asking for money to amend the law on dance bars.

However, the court found prima facie substance in the charges made against two NCP workers -- Paresh Patil and Vilas Satam -- who were trying to extort money from Sethi and has asked Mumbai police commissioner to hold an inquiry against the duo and submit the report to the court within three months.

Meanwhile, the privilege committee of the state legislature found Sethi guilty of making derogatory statement against the member of the house (R R Patil) and, thus, maligning the image of the house, and, therefore, sentenced him to three-month imprisonment. Sethi was whisked away from outside the premises of the court and taken to Arthur Road jail.

Rs 7,500 crore business all set to roll again

Bar owners are thrilled at the Bombay High Court's decision to lift the ban on the dance bars.

"We are back in business. Dance bars can roll out dance floor from today itself. And those without a valid license can apply for one," said Pravin Agrawal, treasurer, Bar Owners Association.

He added that the government could not take any action against bar owners during the eight weeks' time given to the government to appeal the judgement.

There are close to 1,250 dance bars in Maharashtra, of which around 750 are in Mumbai itself. Around 98 per cent of the dance bars in the state have been shut since the imposition of the ban on August 15, 2005. Some bars, however, continued to operate illegally.

Agrawal said that the average turnover per bar was in the range of Rs 10,000 a night with the upmarket ones netting upwards of Rs 2-5 lakh a night. Experts, however, estimate the business in the Mumbai-Thane belt to be range of Rs 20-25 crore a day or Rs 7,500 crore a year.

There are around 75,000 bar girls in Maharashtra, over half of which are based in Mumbai. On an average, a bar girl earns between Rs 10,000 ""25,000 per month which rises considerably during the festival season.

"We have lost crores of rupees since the ban. Bar owners, bar girls and taxi drivers who ferried customers all have been hit hard by the ban," Agrawal said.

Agrawal pointed out that the state exchequer too has lost out from the ban. Dance bars in the state pay entertainment tax of Rs 30,000 per month to the Collectorate, performance licence fees of Rs 15,000 per month to the police, excise license fee of Rs 75,000 per year to the excise department, a BMC tax of Rs 23,000 per year and a police license fees (Rs 10,000 per year). Apart from these, sales tax averages Rs 10,000 per month.