The Bangalore Ladies Working Bar and Restaurant Owners’ Association knocked on the High Court’s doors on Monday challenging the city’s police’s recent action in forcing many bar and restaurants with women employees to down their shutters without issuing any notice, acting instead on Home Minister K.J. George’s instruction.
Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, before whom the petitions filed by the association and several individual bar and restaurants came up for hearing, directed them to participate in a meeting proposed by the State government to discuss the issues pertaining to operation of such bars and restaurants.
Interim order
The court passed an interim order after Advocate-General Ravivarma Kumar admitted that those who have approached the court have valid reasons but the police action was because of “some other problems” and the government has proposed to hold a meeting in this regard on June 21.
As Mr. Kumar told the court the petitioners could also attend the meeting, the court directed the government to give wide publicity to the meeting. “You can come back if nothing happens in the meeting,” Justice Shantanagoudar told the petitioner’s counsel while adjourning the hearing.
The petitioners contended that they were adhering to provisions under the Licensing and Controlling of Places of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005, and complained of police high-handedness in forcing their closure. They also accused the police of flouting earlier assurances given to the court and that many of their employees had lost their livelihood.
