Mumbai HC raises the bar, orders reopening of dance bars
MUMBAI: In a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra government and its deputy chief minister R R Patil, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday struck down the state government’s law banning dance bars. 

In a 260-page ruling, it held that the law was void as it imposed "an unreasonable restriction’’ which was "not in the public interest". The ban, enforced from August 15 last year on grounds of "immorality and obscenity", was touted as one of the key achievements of the ruling Congress-NCP alliance. 

A division bench of Justice F I Rebello and Justice Roshan Dalvi, hearing a bunch of public interest petitions by bar owners, bar girls, activists and NGOs challenging the government legislation, ruled that the ban violated fundamental rights and the constitutional right to equality of bar dancers and bar owners. 

While the judges maintained that the law "did not violate the dancers’ or bar owners’ right to life or freedom of speech and expression", as claimed by the petitioners, they took exception to the fact that the state government was restricting dance performances only in dance bars, restaurants and permit rooms, while allowing hotels, clubs and discotheques to continue with these. They said the blanket ban on all types of dances in these places did not have any connection with the object of the ban which, according to the government, was "to prevent dances which are obscene, vulgar or immoral and derogatory to the dignity of women". 

The judges said the government’s justification for the ban on grounds that bar girls were exploited did not stand the test. "If women other than dancers can work in prohibited establishments and that does not amount to exploitation, we do not see why, when women dance to earn their livelihood, it becomes exploitation," said the judges. 

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 In a major embarrassment to the Maharashtra government and its deputy chief minister R R Patil, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday struck down the state government’s law banning dance bars.