Maha govt introduces Bill to clamp down 'Orchestra' loophole in dance bar rooms

Mumbai, July 7 (IANS) In a serious move to tighten regulations on nightlife and commercial establishments, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday introduced a Bill aimed at plugging legal loopholes used by hotels, restaurants, and bar rooms to bypass dance restrictions.

The Minister of State for Home, Pankaj Bhoyar, presented the “Maharashtra Police and Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) (Amendment) Act, 2026”, targeting the “Orchestra” loophole in bar rooms.

According to the Bill, the state government said that several establishments have been exploiting differences in licensing rules to evade the strict restrictions imposed under the landmark Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance Act, 2016.

The Bill states that establishments have allegedly been using live music and “orchestra” performances — licensed under weaker provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act — as an alternative or front for unregulated dance performances.

The bill also said: “To curb this practice, the government considers it necessary to bring live music performances (orchestra) within the purview of the Prohibition of Obscene Dance Act and to exclude the licences of the live music performances (orchestra) in hotel, restaurant or bar room from the purview of the Police Act.”

To achieve these objectives, the Amendment Bill seeks to modify Sections 2 and 33 of the Maharashtra Police Act (XXII of 1951), stripping away its power to independently license orchestra/live music performances inside commercial eating and drinking spaces.

Sections 2 and 3 of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working therein) Act, 2016, effectively brings all such live music acts under its stringent oversight and regulatory framework.

The introduction of this Bill marks the latest chapter in the state’s decade-long regulatory oversight of dance bars and related nightlife entertainment, heavily emphasising the protection of the dignity of women working within these premises while eliminating avenues for legal evasion.

The Bill will now face deliberation and voting in the Maharashtra State Legislature.

–IANS

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