Dance bar timings: Maharashtra govt notification draws ire of activists
No intention of starting dance bars through Shops and Establishments Act, says labour minister
3 min read
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (Express File Photo by Prashant Nadkar)
A day after the government notified that shops and establishments in Maharashtra will be allowed to stay open for 24 hours, a notification by the labour department said dance bars would be allowed to run with restricted timings. Dance bars in the state were banned in 2005, and the subject remains under litigation.
According to the notification issued by the department on 24-hour operations of establishments, permit rooms, beer bars, dance bars, hookah parlours, discotheques and all other establishments where liquor is served will be permitted to function until 1.30 am in municipal corporation areas, and up to 12.30 am in municipal council areas and in the rest of the state.
For wine shops, the state has put a restriction of 11.30 pm in municipal corporation areas, 11.00 pm in municipal council areas and 1.30 pm in the remaining areas. Theatres and cinema exhibition houses should be closed by 1.00 am across the state, the notification says.
Activists supporting the ban on dance bars objected to the notification saying they would challenge it in court. “We have been saying the state wants dance bar culture to remain in the state and now it has come on record. We totally oppose this and will challenge it in court,” said Vinod Patil, president of RR Patil Foundation, who has filed an intervention in the Supreme Court supporting the dance bar ban.
Dance bars were banned in 2005, and the ban was challenged in court. In April last year, Maharashtra passed a bill allowing dance bars to reopen but with certain restrictions. The bill put in place guidelines on clothing of women performing in dance bars, prohibiting sexually suggestive dance moves and obscenity. The bill was also challenged in the Supreme Court by dance bar owners.
On Wednesday, the state government clarified that it may issue a corrigendum if required. “We have no intention of starting dance bars or anything like that through the Shops and Establishments Act,” Sambhaji Patil, state Labour Minister, told The Indian Express.
Patil added dance bars might have been included in the list in context with other establishments. “Since we have considered the past establishments, it might have been included in it along with names of other establishments such as permit rooms and beer bars. But, if required, we will surely issue a corrigendum to correct it,” added Patil.
Labour department officials were defensive. “The bill was being prepared at a time it was being challenged in court. Due to that, it might have been included in it. We will correct it,” said an official. Another official said it may replace the words ‘dance bars’ in the notification with ‘orchestra’. “What we meant is such establishments where liquor is served. We may then replace it with orchestra or other such establishments,” he said.
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