Court issues arrest warrant against Sudhanshu Maharaj

A Shajapur court on Friday issued an arrest warrant against religious guru Acharya Yashpal Sudhanshu Maharaj in a criminal case filed by a businessman for issuing fake donation receipts.

Earlier, the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court had vacated a stay on his arrest and ordered him to appear before a judicial magistrate in Shajapur before July 30.

"But he did not appear till evening. So, judicial magistrate Suresh Kumar Suryavanshi issued an arrest warrant against him," said advocate Sanjay Tiwari, counsel for the businessman, MP Mansinghka.

Mansinghka, a resident of Maxi, has filed a petition against Sudhanshu Maharaj and his charitable trust Vishwa Jagriti Mission for issuing fake receipts against his donations to the trust.

In his complaint, the industrialist has alleged that he had donated Rs 53 lakh to Vishwa Jagriti Mission to seek tax exemption under section 80-G of the Income Tax Act Vishwa Jagriti Mission, but the receipts issued by the mission against the donations were turned down by the department saying they were not valid, as donations to the mission do not come under section 80-G of the IT Act. Besides, the income-tax department also slapped a penalty of Rs 35 lakh on the businessman.

Sudhanshu Maharaj had earlier approached the high court and the Supreme Court seeking rejection of the case, but his petitions were turned down by both the courts, Tiwari said.