Moral policing has finally reached the hitherto inviolate premises of Delhi’s five-star hotels. These have a 24x7 licence for serving alcohol, and are therefore, crying foul as Delhi Police is forcing out their customers around midnight. The association of restaurant, clubs and pubs recently met lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung about the harassment being meted out to them by Delhi Police and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) officials. Jung has asked the officials of the Environment Department and Delhi Police to consider the issues on the basis of laid-down procedures and norms of the department.
Well-placed sources told The Pioneer that lieutenant Governor has directed both Delhi Police and DPCC officials to follow the norms. Refuting allegations of a ‘crackdown’, Delhi Police officials said, “We are only enforcing the law in a stringent manner since many of these pubs had earlier flouted rules, including serving liquor to those below 25 years and breach of deadlines. We ask pubs with 24x7 licences to close the kitchen by 12.30 am and turn down the music by 1 am, which are the guidelines set by the Excise Department. Who’s stopping them from serving liquor round-the-clockIJ At times these nightclubs behave like obstinate children and breach all deadlines. They should stop doing that.”
Even these pubs are being forced to shut shop within the 12.30 am deadline meant for standalone nightclubs. Pub and hotel owners claim that despite possessing valid round-the-clock licences, teams of the local area police shunt guests out from 12.30 am onward, asking them to clear the premises.
“Delhi has, therefore, joined Mumbai and Bangalore as cities where the influence of the moral police has resulted in the shutting-down of nightlife when the night is still only a few hours old. This is in contrast to cities across the world where such amenities are available till dawn,” said a restaurant owner on condition of anonymity.
The pub crawlers and hotel owners believe that police crackdown on nightclubs is defeating the purpose of ensuring citizen security and leaving them even more vulnerable on the streets of the Capital, which are still far from safe. They have alleged “harassment” and “use of manual force” by police to vacate the pub premises.
The president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) Samir Kuckreja has written a letter to the lieutenant Governor stating that Delhi Police forces out clientele around midnight and often arbitrarily forces the shutting down of their outlets earlier than the stipulated hour. He further alleged that police is not allowing music to be played despite having the valid licence.
He blamed DPCC for slapping notices in the name of air and water pollution. The consent fee being charged by DPCC to establish and operate restaurants, clubs and pubs is exorbitantly high. “This upward revision, announced in 2009, seems arbitrary,” Kuckreja stated in his letter, adding, “The fee is also being demanded in advance for the next five years. This needs to be urgently reviewed.”At the meeting, Jung directed DPCC officials to take action as per law and on case to case basis.