GP's £2m 'guru' claim thrown out

A doctor who says he was influenced into handing over most of his money has had a £2m legal action dismissed.

Oxfordshire GP Yehu Azaz, 50, is trying to retrieve more than £100,000 he gave to a meditation and healing centre near Yeovil in Somerset in the early 1990s.

He also argues the influence exercised by the founder of the Self-Realization Meditation Healing Centre, Rena Denton, 78, damaged his medical career.

But the High Court ruled that all but one of his claims were made too late.

In his written ruling, Judge Richard Seymour QC said Dr Azaz's case "that he gave up his medical career as a result of the undue influence of Mrs Denton is unsustainable".

Centre 'delighted'

However the judge did give Dr Azaz permission to proceed with a claim for the return of some personal belongings valued at about £35,000.

Dr Azaz had sought to retrieve cash donations of more than £100,000 made to the healing centre in the village of Queen Camel.

He was also trying to recover lost earnings and projected future earnings.

Mrs Denton - also known as Mata Yogananda Mahasaya Dharma - has always denied all the allegations made against her and the centre.

In a statement issued after the ruling, law firm Carter-Ruck, which acted for Mrs Denton, said the centre was "delighted to put this unfortunate episode behind them".

Mr Yell said Dr Azaz had been ordered to pay the centre's legal expenses.