The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Maharashtra government on a plea by a bar dancers’ body, which had challenged a law imposing conditions on performances by women in bars and hotels.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman sought a response from the state government within four weeks on the petition filed by Bharatiya Bargirls Union.

The court will consider the plea on April 20, along with a similar petition filed by the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016.

The plea by the bar dancers’ association termed the new act as arbitrary, and said that it was in violation of their right to earn a livelihood through legitimate means.The association said the term ‘obscene dance’ in the act has been deliberately kept vague to allow the police to harass the women performers.