New Delhi: 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.
Modifying the conditions imposed by the State, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh relaxed the earlier condition which said, “The licensee shall ensure that adequate number of CCTV cameras which will live feed continuously to police control room 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. The daily recording of performance of last 30 days would preserved and will be made available to any competent authority as and when required for viewing.”
In respect of other conditions, the bench in its order said on the last occasion, the Court had noted seven conditions which had been taken exception to by Mr. Jayant Bhushan, senior counsel appearing for the petitioners, Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association and others.
Modifying the condition on permit room, the bench said, “this licence is valid for only one stage of 10 ft. x 12 ft. size in restaurant area/permit room as per approved plan of the Excise Department for F.L.-III with non transparent partition between restaurant and permit room area.”
On partition, the bench said, “in the affidavit filed by the State, the said condition has been modified as follows: There shall be a railing of 3 ft. height adjacent to the dance stage. There should be distance of 5 ft. between the railing and seats for the customers.”
“In respect of dance bars which have secured licenses earlier, provisions mentioned above be made binding,” the court said. It should be made binding on dance bars seeking new licenses to have railing of 3 ft. height adjacent to the stage and leaving a distance of 5 ft between the railing and sitting arrangement for customers,” the court added.
