SHASHWATHI ENTERPRISES Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE petitions coming on for preliminary hearing (B Group) are taken up for final disposal. Though the Additional government Advocate appearing for the respondents has sought for an adjournment on the ground that the Advocate General would appear in the matters and would seek to address arguments at length. Having regard to the limited scope of challenge in these petitions and the facts and circumstances of the case and today being the last sitting day for the Court before the commencement of the summer vacation, little purpose is served in adjourning the matters beyond the summer vacation to hear the learned Advocate-General. Accordingly, the matters are considered for final disposal on the basis of the pleadings and averments made.

(2.) THE brief factual matrix in these petitions are as follows :-In WP No. 1312/2008 the petitioner is a partnership firm which has established a Restaurant in the name and style of 'port of Pavilion', at Gandhinagar. Bangalore. It is duly licensed to run a Bar and Restaurant in the said premises under the provisions of the Licensing and Controlling of Places of Public amusements (Bangalore City) Order. 1989. The petitioner having made an application to conduct live band music in the restaurant and the first respondent having failed to consider the application, the petitioner had the benefit of a deemed licence in terms of the provisions of the above Licensing Order. However, when the first respondent refused to renew the licence, for a further period, in the year 1998. the petitioner had approached this Court by way of a writ petition in W. P. No. 75/1998. The petition was allowed on 11-3-1998. with a direction to the first respondent to consider the application. During the pendency of the above petition and till the consideration of the application, this Court had permitted the petitioner to conduct live band music in the Restaurant. The first respondent, however, challenged the order by way of an appeal in W. A. Nos. 1446-1460/1998 which was considered along with other connected writ appeals and were allowed by this Court setting aside the order of the single Judge. The petitioner had. along with the others, preferred appeals to the supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos. 1862-1864/2001. The Supreme Court, by its order dated 28-11-2002. allowed the appeals while holding that no licences would be required for playing music in Restaurants, live or otherwise.

(3.) THE first respondent, had some lime thereafter published the Licensing and controlling of Places of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the '2005 Order', for brevity ). This order was challenged by several persons, including the petitioner, in W. P. No. 16318/2005 and other connected petitions. This Court had allowed the batch of petitions as on 27-9-2005. holding that the notification under challenge dated 25-5-2005 would be treated as a draft notification and afforded liberty to the petitioner and other to file their objections within thirty days to the said notification and directed the first respondent to consider the objections before issuing a final notification. This Court, however, observed that the petitioners shall not run their live band shows in restaurants till such time. This was challenged by way of writ appeals. A Division Bench of this Court having dismissed the appeals, the petitioners were before the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 7197/2005 and other connected appeals. The Supreme Court, by its order dated 2-12-2005, while disposing of the appeals observed as follows :-