NEW DELHI: A provision of a new Maharashtra Act to regulate obscene dance performances and prohibit the showering of money on bar dancers found favour with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, which said the law respected “the dignity of women and dignify decency and culture”.
A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan, however, was critical of certain other provisions of the Act and issued notice to the state government on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016.
Refusing to accept showering of currency notes on women dancers as tip, the bench said, “this provision shows respect for women. This dignifies decency and culture”.
“This is not the silver screen where you throw money. They are performers and there is certain dignity attached to them,” the court noted.
The apex court had earlier rapped the Maharashtra government for not granting licences to dance bars on account of non-compliance of some conditions and said it was better for women to perform than begging on streets or doing something “unacceptable” for earning livelihood.