AMN /
Supreme Court today put on hold the controversial law banning dance bars in Maharashtra, which provided employment to thousands of women. The court said the Maharashtra police will ensure that dignity of women was not affected by the dance performance. Dance bars have been a contentious issue in the state, where the government branded them as fronts for prostitution.
In 2005, the police cracked down on dance performances in bars. Elite establishments, including five star hotels, were exempted. After the top court ruled that dance bars would be allowed to operate in 2013, the Maharashtra assembly passed a law in June 2014 banning dance bars. All political parties were on the same page on the issue and the law was passed unanimously without a debate.
But restaurant owners had challenged the law, arguing that the state had brought a new law to ban bars when the court, the year before, had quashed a law which banned dance performances. The court agreed that although it had set aside a similar provision, the law had been brought in a new manner. The court will hear the case again on November 5.