Bombay HC says bar dancers can be termed genuine artists

Mumbai, Sept.4 : The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that a bar dancer can be termed a 'genuine artists'. "Merely because these girls were performing in dance bars earlier, it cannot be readily inferred that they are not genuine artists," Justice A B Chaudhary said.

The dance bars of Mumbai had been given performance licenses by the government itself, Justice Chaudhary further noted.

While restoring the performance license of Nagpur's Hotel Executive Club, the Nagpur Bench of the High Court pointed out though authorities prescribe that performers at hotels should be genuine artists, the term is nowhere defined.

Nagpur Police raided Executive Club on April 9, 2000 and found that obscene performances were underway there.

A criminal case was lodged against the management. The hotel's proprietor Dhananjay Deodhar challenged the FIR and chargesheet before another bench of High Court.

In 2005, High Court quashed the FIR, observing that spot panchnama did not indicate that performances at the time of the raid were obscene in any manner.

This order was confirmed by the Supreme Court as well.

However, in the meantime Nagpur police authorities issued a show cause notice to the hotel under Bombay Police Act for violating conditions of performance license.

The license was suspended as an inquiry was initiated.

Authorities claimed licenses required that performers at the hotel must be 'genuine artists having experience'.

Statements of the dancing girls after the raid revealed that they were all from Mumbai's dance bars, hence they could not be termed as artists, it was argued.

Deodhar challenged suspension of license before High Court through another petition. In the judgement on the petition on September 1, Chaudhary set aside police's action. (ANI with inputs)

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