Social activists have hailed Supreme Court's verdict paving way for reopening of dance bars in Maharashtra. <br />''<br />''President of Bharatiya Bar Girls' union, Varsha Kale termed the ruling as a great victory and hoped that the state government will soon start issuing licenses to dance bars so that thousands of bar dancers, who lost their jobs or were forced to work as waitresses and singers in hotels, can come back to their original profession. <br />''<br />''Kale claimed that over 75,000 women were employed in dance bars when the state government decided to shut them down in 2005. Bureaucrat-turned-activist Abha Singh hailed the apex court's order as "progressive". <br />''<br />''Stating that the Supreme Court had considered dance as an occupation, Mrs. Singh said that Maharashtra Government's decision to shut down dance bars had thrown many women into penury. <br />''<br />''A section of lawyers also welcomed the judgement and said the SC has drawn a balance between the rights of citizens and duty of the state to govern. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Meanwhile a few others believed that government's law imposing restrictions on the licencing and functioning of dance bars should have been upheld in totality. Retired Bombay High Court Judge F I Rebello, who had struck down the ban imposed by the government on dance bars, said the Supreme Court has rightly quashed the unreasonable restrictions imposed on such outlets. </span><br />