Devotees of a dead guru who has been in a freezer
in northern India since January won a court battle
delaying his cremation for at least another seven
weeks .
Supporters had approached the court in Punjab
state seeking a delay on an earlier order for the
cremation of Hindu " godman" Ashutosh Maharaj ,
whom authorities declared dead on January 29 .
"The division bench of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court has stayed the cremation till February
9, " Swami Vishalanand , a spokesman for the
guru's ashram told AFP on Monday .
Followers have insisted their spiritual leader is not
dead but in a state of deep meditation , and will
eventually return to lead them .
Maharaj, reportedly in his 70 s , was one of India ' s
many gurus and headed the Divya Jyoti Jagrati
Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission ) that
claims to have millions of followers around the
world.
Devotees have invoked the right of freedom of
religion under India ' s constitution as reasons
against his cremation, which was originally sought
in the courts by a man claiming to be the guru's
son.
A two- judge bench on Monday delayed the
cremation order made by a single judge of the
same court on December 1.
Ahead of its decision , thousands of followers
massed at the guru' s ashram in Nurmahal at the
weekend in a show of support for the guru whom
they said should be allowed to continue his
"samadhi ", the highest level of meditation .
The case is reminiscent of something similar that
happened in eastern West Bengal state in the
1990s , when followers of another spiritual leader ,
Balak Brahmachari, refused to cremate him after
he died , saying he would come back to life. The
police then moved in and forcibly cremated his
body.
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