Regulations as per Supreme Court advice only: Additional home secretary

While the Supreme Court pulled up the state government, additional secretary (home) Vijay Satbir Singh said that the "regulations were formulated as advised by the Supreme Court."

He said state is yet to receive a copy of the SC order, but will start issuing licenses as per norms soon.

Adarsh Shetty, president of AHAR (Association of Hotels and Restaurants), said that they are hopeful that the government will finally start issuing licences without frivolous conditions.

"Let's hope this is a fresh start. We will approach the authorities again," he told dna. As per Shetty, 145 applications are lying with the police department. Despite the apex court's intervention, in the last few months only four licences were issued. Those too were cancelled the very next day, he said.

Upset over the "stringent" and "impractical" legislation on opening dance bars, Shetty had said that the association would explore legal options against the law passed in the Maharashtra Assembly on April 12. "These conditions would reduce dance bars into coffee shops. The government should have taken the association's view into consideration," Shetty told dna.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has always maintained his stand against opening dance bars.