The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted three dance bars in Mumbai to operate under the old laws, serve liquor and remain open beyond 1 am without closed-circuit television cameras installed inside, NDTV reported. The court will hear the case next on November 24, where the three bar owners will seek a relaxation of the state government's new stringent rules that ordered the shutting of their establishments by 11.30 pm and disallowed them from operating within one kilometre of religious and educational establishments, among other conditions.

Responding to a plea by the three bar owners, the Supreme Court said the state government's rules prohibiting the serving of alcohol in the dance bar "was absurd". The court said, "Why don't you ban liquor consumption in the state as a whole. You can put other conditions, but you cannot say that liquor can't be served."

The Maharashtra government defended its rule that asked for installing of CCTV cameras on the premises and submitting it to the police, citing it as a way to deter harassment or criminal activities that would need police action. The Supreme Court dismissed the law on CCTVs and said, "It is regressive. It is not a theatre but a bar. You can have CCTV at the entrance."

Stakeholders also contested the rule that prohibited them from operating within a kilometre of any religious or educational structure and said that it was impossible in crowded cities. They opposed the order to shut down bars by 11.30 pm, and said it was unfair as other commercial ventures were encouraged to do business round-the-clock, dna reported. The Dance Bar Regulation Bill has provisions for strict penalties if the rules are violated.