Bombay High Court Quashes FIR Registered Against Three Businessmen Caught During Police Raid at Dance Bar, Says 'Customers Can't Be Booked for Obscene Dance Performed by Bar Girls'
Their lawyer, advocate Mehta, told the court that the three businessmen were present in the dance bar when the police raided the eatery. However, he contended that their mere presence at the dance bar cannot be termed "aiding and abetting".
Mumbai, April 10: The Bombay High Court recently quashed an FIR registered against three people from the city who were allegedly booked for throwing money on bar girls in Santacruz. The three accused were arrested when the police raided a dance bar in Mumbai's Santacruz area in March 2018. The division bench of Justice Prakash D Naik and Justice NR Borkar struck the FIR lodged against three businessmen.
The division bench said that the petitioners were not concerned with the dance performances or connected with the hotel where the dance was performed. "No specific overt act is attributed to them," the court said, reports Hindustan Times. The case dates back to March 6, 2018, when the Santacruz police had registered a first information report (FIR) against 39 persons. Dance Bars in Mumbai to Get New Life? Supreme Court Eases Licence and Other Norms.
All the people were caught during a raid at Star Night Bar and Restaurant in Santacruz. In the FIR, the police claimed that some of the bar girls were performing obscene dances during the raid. Among the 39 accused were 20 customers, including the three businessmen. The accused were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Police Act.
Recently, the three businessmen approached the high court to quash the criminal proceedings against them. Their lawyer, advocate Mehta, told the court that the three businessmen were present in the dance bar when the police raided the eatery. However, he contended that their mere presence at the dance bar cannot be termed "aiding and abetting". Dance Bars in Mumbai May Face Hurdles Despite Supreme Court Order as Maharashtra Government Mulls Ordinance.
On the other hand, MM Deshmukh, an additional public prosecutor, opposed the plea and said that the trio was showering money on the women dancing in the bar, thus aiding and abetting them. However, the court quashed the criminal proceedings against the three businessmen and said that the trio cannot be said to have aided or abetted the obscene dance performance.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2024 09:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).