Vedic speaker and orator Dushyanth Sridhar has approached the Madras High Court, seeking permission to file a defamation suit against temple activist Rangarajan Narasimhan. He is demanding ₹1 crore in damages, alleging that the activist made derogatory remarks about him on social media.
On Thursday (3 April 2025), Justice K. Kumaresh Babu granted time until 29 April 2025 for Narasimhan to submit his written objections. Appearing in person, the activist argued that the suit should have been filed in Tiruchi, where he resides, rather than in Chennai.
Dushyanth Sridhar, a Bengaluru resident, justified his decision to approach the Madras High Court by stating that his primary audience and followers are based in Chennai. His legal counsel informed the court that he is a chemical engineer with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani. Transitioning to religious discourse, he claims he has since delivered approximately 3,500 lectures globally on scriptures such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata Mahapurana, and Divya Prabandham.
Dushyanth Sridhar alleges that since 2023, Rangarajan Narasimhan has been making personal attacks against him online, which he claims go beyond fair criticism. He has requested the court to direct the activist to remove the defamatory posts, refrain from making further such statements, and compensate him for the alleged harm to his reputation.
According to the plaint, Chennai serves as Sridhar’s primary base for discourses, given his large following in the city and his preference for delivering speeches in Tamil. It further states that the defendant has a history of making inflammatory remarks against well-known figures to gain attention.
The case will be heard further after the activist files his response by 29 April 2025.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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