The petitioners had challenged the bar on the entry of women in the sanctum sanctorum of Shani Shingnapur temple in the state's Ahmednagar district. Activist Sunita Patil claimed in her petition that the provisions of the Maharashtra Hindu Place of Worship (Entry Authorisation) Act, 1956 are being read incorrectly to allow the entry of women into temples. They were formulated for doing away with caste and creed and the entry of people belonging to the backward classes into temples, the petition said. As per the provisions in the Act, those preventing anyone from entering a temple face six months of imprisonment. The order was passed after the state had assured the court that there would be no gender discrimination.

Source: dna June 11, 2016 01:30 UTC