Supreme Court issues notice to Maharashtra in Dance Bars case (again)

The Supreme Court today issued notice to Maharashtra in a petition by the Bharatiya Bargirls’ Union, challenging the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016..A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton Nariman ordered the State counsel to be served with a copy of the petition..The petition filed through Advocate Nikhil Nayyar prays for a direction to.“declare the provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act, 2016 as illegal and violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India.”.It also goes on to state that,.“It is submitted that the Impugned Act and Rules unreasonably interferes with free choice of expression in dramatic performances, and the right of women to practice occupation of self-expression through such dramatic performances. More egregiously, the Impugned Act imposes fetters on dancing as a form of entertainment and also fails to secure the rights of women performers from being stigmatized.”.It is this new law which has been challenged by the Bargirls’ Union. Earlier, the Indian Hotels and Restaurant Association had challenged the Act. The petition filed by Bargirls’ Union has been tagged along with this earlier case..Interestingly, the prayer in today’s petition is most unique, especially insofar as it seeks a direction for the Court to “declare that ‘bargirls’ or women performers and their occupation should not as a class be described so as to make them derogatory in the eyes of the legislature.”.It also takes issue with the word ‘obscene’ used to describe the dance, noting that the word itself was ‘vague’ and ‘overbroad’. In addition, Section 8(4) and Condition B(6) are challenged as being violative of the right to earn livelihood, as they prohibit “women dancers from monetizing dance performances through tips or rewards offered by customers voluntarily as appreciation”..Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhawan appeared for the Bargirls’ Union..The matter is now expected to come up on April 20, 2017.