Excise Officials Halt DJ Stella Bossi Show at Lower Parel Pub Over Permits

Officials from the Maharashtra State Excise Department shut down a live music performance by German-Italian DJ Stella Bossi at the antiSOCIAL pub in Mumbai's Lower Parel on Friday night after discovering that the event lacked the required regulatory permits.

The performance was brought to an abrupt halt approximately 50 minutes into the set when Excise officials entered the venue and directed the organizers to shut down the music. Bossi later shared a video of the incident on her official Instagram account, stating that the event was stopped midway and assuring her fans that she planned to return to the city in the future.

Following initial speculation online attributing the disruption to the police, the Mumbai Police issued a clarification stating that their personnel had not stopped the concert. The intervention was conducted entirely by officials from the Maharashtra State Excise Department. Authorities explained that attendees likely mistook the Excise officials for police officers because personnel from both departments wear khaki uniforms.

According to the State Excise Department, enforcement officers intervened because the organizers had failed to secure the mandatory one-day club or party permit required for hosting a large, ticketed commercial gathering at that specific venue.

The music event was originally scheduled to be held at the Cruise Terminal in Ballard Estate. However, after authorities denied permission for that location, the event organizers relocated the gathering to antiSOCIAL in Lower Parel without submitting applications for the mandatory venue-specific safety and commercial event clearances.

Excise officials clarified that although antiSOCIAL holds a standard permit room licence to serve alcohol on its premises, hosting a large-capacity ticketed event requires separate approvals. These permits are required to verify the venue's floor area, enforce crowd capacity limits, and ensure full compliance with emergency exit and fire safety standards.