No dance bars allowed to operate in Maha, is moral policing going on in Maha; asks SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra government why it has not allowed a single dance bar to operate and wondered if there was total moral policing in the state.

The top court questioned the state for denial of licences to dance bars and observed that with the changing times, the definition of obscenity has also changed.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said now even the law and society have recognised live-in like relationships, which earlier were not acceptable.

Questioning the state government, the bench said why it has not given a single licence for operation of dance bars even after court’s repetitive orders and rejected applications.

“It seems like total moral policing is going on in the state,” the bench said.

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade and advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, appearing for Maharashtra, said that all the 81 applicants who sought licences for dance bars did not have clearances from fire department, among other things.

On the fateful night of December 28-29, last year, a massive fire had swept through two resto-pubs at the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai, resulting in the death of 14 people.

Naphade further said that in 30 years of his association with Mumbai, he have hardly seen a single restaurant which is fire compliant.

He contended that even today society at large has not changed as far as perception is concerned as no traditional families would allow their children to visit places like dance bars.

The senior lawyer said whenever a young boy and girl are seen together, adverse inferences are drawn.

The bench observed that with the change of time, the definition of obscenity has also changed and now a days even live-in relationships are accepted by the society and the law (the court referred to the domestic violence Act), which earlier was not acceptable.

“Earlier, filmmakers used to show two flowers or two birds chirping instead of showing kiss or love making scenes in movies but now the time has changed”, the bench said in a lighter vein.

Hotel and restaurant owners, bar girls and others have challenged the new law -the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016 by separate petitions.