The vacation bench of the Karnataka High Court on Thursday has ruled that bars and restaurants do not have to take license from the city police to employ waitresses. Surpassing an earlier guideline issued by the city police on the recruitment of waitresses, the court said that it is against the fundamental right of women, thereby upholding an earlier Supreme Court judgment in 2008.According to a Bangalore Mirror report, four female waiters - Asha, Sufiya Begum Mansur, Manshi Sunar and Gulsana Pathan - along with 20 bars and restaurants had approached the high court in 2013 against the 20-point police guidelines issued by the city police earlier.Against a Karnataka government declaration that there is no bar on employing women as waiters in bars and restaurants, the city police in 2013 issued a set of guidelines for bars and restaurants. It included a license to be taken by all places of entertainment serving liquor whether the waiters were male or female, thereby brining every hotel and bar serving liquor came under police control. Further, the guideline demanded that waitresses be provided with uniforms, the design of which, will be decided by the police. It also imposed cap on the number of waitresses employed.Pointing out that bars come under the ambit of Excise law, the court said that the police do not have the powers to issue any guidelines under the Karnataka Police Act.The police claimed that the guidelines were necessary to prevent indecent activities involving women. However, the court observed that it is against the fundamental rights of women and that police can intervene if illegal activities are reported, adds the report.