Soon after scores of men forced their way into the inner sanctum of the Shani Shinganpur temple in Maharashtra on Friday, the temple trust announced it won't stop women from entering the sanctum sanctorum to worship there.

The trust was in a bind after a recent Bombay high court ruling said entry to temples was a fundamental right of women and it was the State's fundamental duty to protect it.

Women have never been permitted into the inner sanctum of the temple. So, to keep it that way and circumvent discrimination charges, the trust said a few days ago that now even men wouldn't be allowed into the temple's inner sanctum.

The temple in Ahmednagar district is dedicated to Shani, thought to personify the planet Saturn in Hindu belief. The inner sanctum of the shrine has no walls and no roof.