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Supreme Court rules against CCTV cameras inside dance bars
Court also waters down a few other conditions laid down by the Maharashtra police
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to grant licences to dance bar owners within the next 13 days as it modified certain conditions that had been put forward by the Maharashtra police for such licences.
As part of the modifications, the court rejected the idea put forth by the Maharashtra police of installing CCTV cameras within the performance area, which would record the entire performance and provide it to the nearest police station in the form of a live feed.
“For the present arrangement, let us not have CCTV cameras in the performance area. They may, however, be installed in the entrance area of the restaurant and other places with the exception of the performance area,” the order noted.
The court also watered down a few other conditions laid down by the Maharashtra police. These included the presence of a 3ft railing between the performers and the audience, permission to keep only four dancers on stage at a time, and no alteration to the premises without the permission of a statutory competent authority.
The Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association had moved the apex court seeking a re-examination of some of the conditions sought to be imposed for grant licenses by the Maharashtra police on grounds of them being unreasonable.
The police had sought to impose 27 conditions before allowing grant of licences.
On 15 October, the apex court had lifted the ban on dance bars and stayed a 2014 amendment to the Maharashtra Police Act that prohibited all kinds of dance performances at restaurants, hotels and bars, following which dance bars initiated the process of renewing their licences.
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First Published:2 Mar 2016, 05:30 PM IST
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