Women can't be barred at Shani temple, says Bombay HC

There is no law that prevents women from entering a place of worship and if men are allowed, then women too should be permitted, the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday.

While hearing a petition seeking the entry of women at the sanctum sanctorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, a division bench of Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice M S Sonak asked the Maharashtra government to give its reply in two days and posted the next hearing to April 1.

“There is no law that prevents entry of women in any place. If you allow men then you should allow women also. If a man can go and pray before the deity then why not women?” Chief Justice Waghela said, adding that the rights of women must be protected by the state government.

The bench observed: “If it is the sanctity of the deity that you are worried about then let the government make such a statement.” Under the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956, if any temple or person prohibits any person from entering a temple then he or she faces a six-month imprisonment, the court said in its observation.

The PIL had claimed that the prohibition against entry of women is arbitrary, illegal and violative of the fundamental rights of a citizen. Besides, such a prohibition also encourages gender disparity, the petition said.

Trupti Desai-led Bhumata Ranragani Brigade failed to storm the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district on January 26.

Trupti, along with several activists, had tried unsuccessfully on March 7, Maha Shivaratri, to storm the sanctum sanctorum of the Trimbakeswar temple, where entry of women is banned. On 28 November 2015, woman broke the nearly five-century old tradition and climbed near the idol of the world-famous Shani Shingnapur temple.