Despite the Shani Shingnapur temple trust order disallowing men to enter the inner sanctum of the temple, several devotees stormed the temple on Friday to hold 'Jal Pooja' on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Hindu New Year.
A group of men broke the boundary wall and pushed their way through the temple. Those present at the temple claim there was no attempt made to stop the men from entering the sanctum sanctorum.
Soon after the news of male members entering the inner sanctum of the temple broke out, women's activist Trupti Desai also left for the temple inner sanctum. For the last couple of months Trupti Desai of Bhumata Brigade has been demanding an end to a centuries-old ban on women's entry into the inner-most part of the temple, where the idol of Lord Shani is placed on an open-air platform.
Earlier, Trupti along with members of her Bhumata Brigade were stopped from entering the temple despite a Bombay High Court ruling that it is the fundamental right of women to go into places of worship.
The Bombay High Court had observed that women should have equal access to places of worship. "There is no law, which prevents women for having equal access from entering a temple. If men are allowed then women should also be allowed," the court had said.
The shrine is dedicated to Lord Shani, who personifies the planet Saturn in Hindu belief. Women devotees are not permitted on the platform as per tradition followed at the shrine, which has no walls or a roof. A five-foot-high black stone stands on a sacred platform (prohibited area) and is worshipped as Lord Shani.
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