Maha: Bombay HC orders offence against Indurikar Maharaj over remarks

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The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the police to register a case against popular Marathi 'kirtankar' (preacher) Nivrutti Maharaj Indurikar for his alleged remarks on the timing of intercourse and the gender of child.

The bench of Justice K C Sant passed the order on a writ filed by Ranjana Gawande, a social activist and advocate from Sangamner in Ahmednagar district, the petitioner's lawyer Jitendra Patil said.

Talking to reporters, the petitioner's advocate Jitendra Patil said the First Class (Judicial Magistrate) court at Sangamner had earlier ordered a case against the preacher under relevant sections of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

However, the order was challenged in the session's court, which then cancelled the lower court's verdict, he said, adding that the petitioner then filed a separate writ in the high court and the hearing was completed in April this year.

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During his kirtan (sermon) at a hamlet in Ahmednagar district in 2020, the preacher had reportedly said that intercourse by a couple on an even date would beget a male child, while on an odd date would result in the birth of a girl.

"If intercourse with a woman is done on even date, a male child is born and if intercourse is done on an odd date, a girl child is born. If intercourse is done at an inauspicious time, the child that is born would bring a bad name to the family. If the timing (of intercourse) is missed, the quality of output (child) will be sub-standard," he was heard saying in a video that had gone viral.

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