And finally… legal walk

The court is located in Ahmedabad, which is 1,400 miles from Calcutta where he currently lives.

However, the court rejected the request and told him to appear next month.

But Acharya Kirti Yashurishwarji Maharaj, 60, said he cannot use a vehicle as he has renounced the world.

He is charged with forging a government document to suggest it is legal to recruit children into Jain monastic orders.

The Times of India reported he told the court he cannot walk more than 10-12 km a day because of a spinal injury but promised the court his absence would not affect proceedings.

In response the court issued a fresh warrant against him.

Inducting children as monks is a common practice amongst Jains in the western state of Gujarat.

Mr Maharaj was taken to court by activist Jasmin Shah, based in Ahmedabad, who accused him of misleading the Jain community asd well as forgery.

There are four million Jains in India, many in Guajarat and neighbouring Rajasthan.

Because of their austere lifestyle the Buddha is said to have once quipped that those who have accumulated bad karma through cruelty and bloodshed in past lives are reborn as Jains.