No separate ‘Crooner’s licence’ required for lady performers in Bars: Calcutta HC [Read Judgment]

The Calcutta High Court has held that, no separate “Crooners licence” is needed for live performers/crooners in hotels/bars/restaurants which has valid licences under the Bengal Excise Act to carry on live performances in their establishments.

However, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, taking judicial notice of the fact that lady crooners perform in most vulnerable circumstances exposing them to various forms of exploitation and criminal activities, also observed: “The performers in such live performance and/or the owners of such establishments, however, are required to furnish particulars as to the identity, that is, names and addresses including phone numbers of such performers to the jurisdictional police station as well as the name of the establishment where they intend to perform. In the event, the petitioners and other live performers provide such details to the police authorities, the police authorities shall permit them to participate them in such live performance in accordance with law. However, it shall be open to the police authorities to insist on disclosure of the aforesaid particulars of any performer prior to his or her participating in live performance in the hotel-cum-bar-cum-restaurant which are so licensed under the relevant law.”

The Court also added that the above requirement shall be read in to the conditions of licence already issued in favour of the hotel-cum-bar-cum-restaurant under the provisions of the Bengal Excise Act and the breach thereof shall be construed to be a breach of conditions of licence of the establishment itself. Fresh licences issued to new establishments shall include such condition as a part of the licence, the court said.

Last month, the Supreme Court had upheld a Bombay High Court’s order to allow dance bars to operate again in Maharashtra.

Read the Judgment here.