Recent police action against dance and Lavani performances during Dahi Handi celebrations has highlighted the organisers’ duty to secure mandatory permissions and provide the necessary certifications before holding cultural events.
While the Bibwewadi police have filed a case against dancer Radha Patil-Mumbaikar and two organisers for allegedly conducting a programme despite being denied permission, the Kesnand police have separately refused permission for a planned Lavani performance by dancer Aishwarya Jadhav Laturkar.
On Monday, the Bibwewadi police filed a case against Patil-Mumbaikar; Bhushan Abhiman Sonawane, chairman of Empire Group A K Boys; and organiser Amol Kate for allegedly holding a dance programme without obtaining prior permission from the police.
The event took place on Sunday at Bhairavnath Society on Ambamata Road in Sukhsagar Nagar, Katraj.
Police officials stated that Sonawane and his group had scheduled Patil-Mumbaikar’s performance as a highlight of their Dahi Handi celebrations and had sought police permission for the event.
However, the organisers and the performer allegedly did not provide the necessary paperwork, including certification from the Maharashtra State Stage Performances Scrutiny Board.
The police later refused to grant permission for the event. Nevertheless, the performance is reported to have taken place. When police officers visited Dahi Handi locations afterward, they discovered that the event had been held and subsequently filed a case.
Bibwewadi senior police inspector Ashwini Satpute stated that the board’s certification is meant to guarantee that performances are free from vulgar or objectionable material.
Without certification or approval from the board, no one is allowed to organise cultural dance events. Therefore, we have charged them under Section 223 of the BNS, and further investigation is in progress,” she said.
Patil-Mumbaikar however said that the organisers had already applied for certification and possessed the receipt.
We had already submitted our application for certification to the board and were in possession of the receipt.
We were told that we could start the performance on the strength of that receipt. However, after three girls, including myself, had performed, the police stepped in and halted the event," Patil-Mumbaikar said.
" If the police did not intend to let us perform, why were we permitted to begin the programme at all? They should have notified us in advance that our permission had been denied. Had we been aware of this earlier, we would not have gone to the venue. Now, we will pursue this matter legally and make sure that we never perform at any event without securing all the required permissions beforehand," she said.
In another incident, the police refused to grant permission for a planned Lavani performance by Aishwarya Jadhav, also known as Aishwarya Laturkar, at the Chhaya Group Kesnand Dahi Handi festival held at Dhore Vasti in Kesnand.
In their communication to the organisers, the police stated that permission was denied due to concerns about the nature of the planned performance and its potential implications for law and order.
They referred to the risk of obscene gestures that might cause embarrassment or discomfort to women attending the event. The police further noted that the performance could trigger religious or social tensions and potentially result in a law-and-order problem.
DCP (zone 7) Abhinash Kumar said that public celebrations such as Dahi Handi attract large crowds and cultural programmes held during such events are therefore scrutinised from a law-and-order perspective.
Large public festivities like Dahi Handi draw substantial crowds, so cultural programmes organised during these occasions are closely examined from a law-and-order standpoint. Permissions were granted on that basis," Kumar said.
The police are still investigating the Bibwewadi case, while the organisers of the Kesnand event are likely to revise their programme after permission for Jadhav’s performance was denied.