Ordinance bans dance bars but keeps 5-stars out of it

The Maharashtra cabinet today approved the controversial ordinance banning over 1,300 dance bars in the face of opposition from sections wit...

The Maharashtra cabinet today approved the controversial ordinance banning over 1,300 dance bars in the face of opposition from sections within the government as well as outside.

Titled the Bombay Police (Amendment) Ordinance 2005, it bans dance performances inside bars and eateries. It includes a stringent provision to provide for punishment upto three years and penalty upto Rs 2 lakh for violations, and makes the offence non-bailable.

Clubs, five-star hotels and tourism-related performances have been exempted from the ban. However, organisers would have to seek permission prior to such programmes.

Story continues below this ad

‘‘The cabinet has unanimously cleared the draft ordinance. After the minutes are confirmed in the next cabinet meeting, the ordinance will be sent to the Governor for promulgation,’’ said Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil after the cabinet meeting today.

The decision had been pending for a long time.

Though Patil had announced the ban on dance bars following a high voltage debate in the state Assembly on March 30, the Congress-led government has taken nearly two months to clear the actual ordinance.

Meanwhile, there have been protests by rights groups irked by the enthusiasm of the government to act as a moral police. The National Commission for Women had pointed out the need to rehabilitate the bargirls before the ban is imposed. Unions representing bargirls, too, had pointed out that nearly 75,000 girls would lose their jobs if the ban was implemented.

Following a meeting with a delegation of bargirls, even Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to take a fresh look at the issue. However, the NCP had refused to budge and brushed aside the reluctance of its alliance partner.

Story continues below this ad

At the cabinet meeting today, there were queries on whether the decision would be defensible in a court of law. ‘‘We have anticipated a legal battle over the decision. That is why, the draft was referred to the Advocate General and the Law and Judiciary Department for clearance,’’ said Patil, referring to the Dance Bar Owners’ Association’ attempts to seek legal recourse.