High Court allows Ashutosh Maharaj followers to keep his body in freezer

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday granted permission to preserve the body of "clinically dead" Indian guru Ashutosh Maharaj to its followers. Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the sect Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan died in January 2014 following a suspected heart attack.

The followers of Ashutosh Maharaj insists he is not dead and meditating only to return to life one day. They have kept his body in a deep freezer in his Ashram in Punjab since 2014.

Dalip Kumar Jha claimed son of Ashutosh Maharaj had filed a case in court seeking permission to cremate his father's body in line with Hindu rituals. 

The decision of Punjab and Haryana High Court has put an end to a three-year-old dispute between Dalip and Ashutosh Maharaj's followers. The new judgement has set aside a 2014 court order which allowed cremation of Ashutosh Maharaj's body after doctors declared him dead.  

However, the claimed son Dalip Jha has accused Ashutosh Maharaj's followers of retaining his body just to keep control over his wealth.

Ashutosh Maharaj's estimated properties worth $120 million in India, US, South America, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.