Agra court steps in after police inaction: Complaint filed against Aniruddhacharya for alleged offensive comments on women
PTC Web Desk: A local court in Agra has taken cognisance of a complaint accusing spiritual preacher Aniruddhacharya of making insulting comments about women. The complaint, filed by Meera Rathore, the Agra district president of the All India Hindu Mahasabha, has been accepted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), which has now formally registered the matter. The court will record her statement on January 1.
The dispute began after a video of Aniruddhacharya went viral in October, in which he spoke about young women and marriage. The comments sparked strong criticism on social media, with several women’s groups alleging that his remarks were disrespectful and reinforced harmful stereotypes.
Rathore condemned the comments publicly, saying such statements were unacceptable from a religious figure. She first filed a complaint at the Vrindavan police station, but when the police did not register an FIR, she approached the court for action.
As a mark of protest, Meera Rathore said she had kept her hair untied since filing the petition. “I had decided not to braid my hair until the case was admitted. Now that the court has taken it up, I may finally tie it again,” she said. She has demanded that a formal case be filed and that Aniruddhacharya be arrested for his remarks.
Her lawyer, Manish Gupta, said the decision to move court was taken after the Vrindavan Kotwali police failed to act on the original complaint.
In response to the controversy, Aniruddhacharya issued a clarification, claiming his words were taken out of context. He said the viral clip did not show his full statement and insisted that he had spoken about both men and women. “My remarks were presented in a distorted manner,” he said, adding that the intent was not to target women alone.
- With inputs from agencies
