The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear to the Maharashtra government that CCTV cameras shall be fixed at the entrance of the premises of the dance bars but shall not be fixed in the restaurant or the permit area or the performance area.
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A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also allowed CCTVs only at the entrance and all other places except the performing area, restaurant and drinking area.
“We are certain that competent authorities will not conceive of anything to stall the grant of licence”, the court said and added that the authorities will “comply with the command of this court and not venture to defy it”.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the state government is contemplating to bring a suitable legislation to prevent obscenity and vulgarity during the dance performances in the dance bars.
Protesting the condition of the three-feet wall around the performing area, the Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association and Dance Bar Association said it would seriously affect their business.
The court had then asked the Maharashtra government to revisit the conditions. “The cameras be installed to cover the entire premises which will record the entire daily performance and the same will be monitored by a specially appointed person on a monitor/ display”.
Meanwhile, Congress president Sachin Sawant said the government deliberately took a soft stand. “The government has failed to put forth its position because they have a hidden nexus with dance bar owners”.
“And why the stage should be covered from all sides?”
The SC had in November previous year too pulled up the Maharashtra government for not complying with its October 15, 2015 order that had asked it to consider granting dance bar licences to hoteliers and had ordered it to process such pleas within two weeks.
To ensure that the government does not get into a direct conflict with the ruling of the Supreme Court, the state has chose to take the executive and legislative route to enforce the decision, which has had the support of all political parties. He asserted that Dance Bar Association members wanted to make the profession transparent and that the judgment would reduce prostitution.
EARLIER: Install CCTVs at all places.
The other most controversial among the conditions was that the bars are to ensure adequate CCTV cameras which will “live feed continuously” to the nearest police control room.
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NOW: Only criminal antecedents have to be verified.
