A drone came within 20ft (6m) of hitting a passenger jet on its final approach to London's Heathrow Airport, an aviation safety hearing was told.

The Airbus A319, which can carry up to 156 passengers, was flying at 500ft (152m) on 30 September when the drone passed just 20ft above it.
The pilot involved told the UK Air Proximity Board (UKAB) it was not possible to take avoiding action.
Police were informed but the drone operator has never been traced.
The incident was in the most serious risk category because of its proximity to the jet.
The drone was violating the Civil Aviation Authority regulations as it did not have permission to be above 400ft (122m) within the control zone around Heathrow Airport, officials said.
The UKAB concluded the aircraft and the drone were separated by about a wingspan, which is considered to be "the bare minimum", and the drone had not shown up on radars.
The UKAB's latest monthly meeting considered six possible near-miss incidents between aircrafts and drones.
Days after the Heathrow incident, the pilot of a Dornier Do328 short-haul plane, which carried about 30 passengers, reported a drone passing his left wing by less than 50ft shortly after taking off from Manchester Airport.
The incident on 2 October occurred at an altitude of 3,000ft and the pilot believed the drone must have passed over the propeller and assessed there was a high risk of collision.
Since December the UKAB has published details of seven near-misses involving drones, including a drone coming within metres of colliding with a jet above the Houses of Parliament on 13 September.


India has blocked free access to 857 porn sites in what it says is a move to prevent children from accessing them.

Adults will still be able to access the sites using virtual private networks (VPNs) or proxy servers.
In July, the Supreme Court expressed its unhappiness over the government's inability to block sites, especially those featuring child pornography.
Telecom companies have said they will not be able to enforce the "ban" immediately.
"We have to block each site one by one and it will take a few days for all service providers to block all the sites," an unnamed telecom company executive told The Times of India newspaper.
A senior official, who preferred to remained unnamed, told the BBC Hindi that India's department of telecommunications had "advised" telecom operators and Internet service providers to "control free and open access" to 857 porn sites.
"There is no total ban. This was done in the backdrop of Supreme Court's observation on children having free access to porn sites. The idea is also to protect India's cultural fabric. This will not prevent adults from visiting porn sites," the official said.
"It is a temporary arrangement. The telecommunications depart will eventually come up with a long term policy [of controlling access to these sites later," he said.
In July, the top court had observed that it was not for the court to order a ban on porn sites.
"It is an issue for the government to deal with. Can we pass an interim order directing blocking of all adult websites? And let us keep in mind the possible contention of a person who could ask what crime have I committed by browsing adult websites in private within the four walls of my house. Could he not argue about his right to freedom to do something within the four walls of his house without violating any law?," the court said.
According to statistics released by adult site Pornhub, India was its fourth largest source of traffic in 2014, behind the US, UK and Canada.
Pranesh Prakash of the Bangalore based Centre for Internet and Society said the directive to block the 857 sites was "the largest single order" in India.
"The government's reasoning that it is not a ban because adults can still access the porn sites is ridiculous," he told the BBC.
The move has caused a great deal of comment on Indian social media networks, with many prominent personalities coming forward to condemn it.
Popular author Chetan Bhagat, writer and commentator Nilanjana Roy, politician Milind Deora and director Ram Gopal Varma have all added their voices to the debate.
The hashtag #pornban was also picking up momentum in India, with hundreds of tweets on the subject.
It's not all outrage though. A number of people have been vociferously defending the move, saying that porn is an assault on Indian culture.
And according to some tongue in cheek observers, one bit of good that may come of the ban, is that the necessity of having to use proxy servers would inadvertently force Indians to take their privacy seriously.
"I request the powers that be to therefore lose no time in introducing web filtering to India, so that Indians can truly enjoy the free internet, without restrictions and fear", writer Shivam Vij said on Indian news website Scroll.


Novak Djokovic advanced to his sixth Australian Open final with a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory over Roger Federer.

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The world number one dominated the first two sets with some superb hitting, then had to hold off a spirited Federer fightback.
It is the third straight Grand Slam in which Djokovic has beaten the Swiss, prolonging Federer's wait for an 18th major title.
Djokovic will face Andy Murray or Canada's Milos Raonic in the final.
The Serb has beaten British number one Murray in the final on three previous occasions, including last year's four-set victory.
"I played unbelievably in the first two sets but I needed to because Roger has been playing unbelievably and I knew he would be aggressive," 10-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic said.
Before the match, much attention had focused on the first set, with Federer never having beaten Djokovic in a best-of-five match having dropped the opener.
But it was barely a contest as Djokovic twice broke the world number three in his opening three service games.
Pummelling Federer with deep groundstrokes and using clever changes of pace to induce 12 unforced errors from his opponent, the Serb wrapped up the set inside 23 minutes.
And he was no less dominant in the second, decisively breaking to love in the third game as he threatened to hand a rattled Federer one of his worst ever defeats.
Not since a 2001 loss to Andre Agassi at the US Open had Federer been limited to just three games in the first two sets.
But just when a Djokovic victory seemed inevitable, somehow Federer managed to reverse the momentum of the match to take the third set.
The 34-year-old held his opening three service games then seized his opportunity in a mammoth sixth game, missing three break points before finally breaking Djokovic at the fourth opportunity.
The fourth set was closely contested as a resurgent Federer threatened to extend Djokovic to five sets for the first time since their epic meeting in the 2014 Wimbledon final.
But a poor game at 3-4 ultimately proved costly as Djokovic broke and then served out to love to edge ahead 23-22 in his rivalry with Federer.
"My rhythm, my timing, all that, was a bit off in the beginning," said Federer. "He took advantage of that and did an unbelievable job for a long, long time tonight."
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
On the evidence of the first six rounds in Australia, not a lot has changed in the world of tennis since the end of last season. Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic still look a cut above the rest, although Roger Federer's rousing comeback thrilled everyone watching.
Djokovic made only six unforced errors in the first two sets - he was simply devastating. The rousing ovation Federer received as he came out to begin the third set sparked him into life, but the match was settled in the eighth game of the fourth.
Federer won the point of the tournament - playing a glorious half-volley, chasing down a lob, running down a smash, and hitting the line with a backhand pass - only for Djokovic to break and then serve his way into a sixth Melbourne final. He's won the first five, and will take some stopping now.
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One of the biggest unions at Tata says politicians should not interfere in the workers' ballot over whether to accept a less generous pension scheme.

Unite was responding to Plaid Cymru's economy spokesman Adam Price, who urged steel workers to reject a move from final salary pensions.
Balloting is expected to begin at the end of January.
Tata said pension reform is essential to a deal that would see Â£1bn invested at Port Talbot over 10 years.
The company made a commitment to secure jobs and production at Port Talbot and its other steelworks in December.
But Plaid AM Mr Price said Tata was being "opportunistic", adding workers should ask it to rethink the offer.
The financial climate around the steel industry has changed over the last 12 months.
World steel prices have risen from $385 per tonne of hot rolled coil a year ago, when Tata announced more than 1,000 UK job losses, to $536 per tonne by August just after the company put the sale of its Welsh operations on hold.
China had been accused of selling surplus steel to Europe at below cost price, driving down its market value.
But last summer, the European Union continued imposing tariffs on foreign imports - with up to 22% levied on cold rolled steel, which is used in cars and washing machines.
And the turnaround plan put in place at the biggest plant, Port Talbot, saw the reported losses of Â£1m a day at the site reduced.
Mark Turner, a Unite union official at Port Talbot, said: "When politicians start making comments on either side, they need to understand what they're doing and the influence they have on people.
"There are personal decisions to make but also the future of the steel industry, there are a lot of things people have to take into consideration.
"We'd like politicians to keep their opinions to themselves for the time being."
Meanwhile, Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock criticised Mr Price, saying he was "astonished" at his intervention, given the delicacy of the situation.
"This is a very personal decision that the steelworkers have to make, based on a range of factors," said the Labour MP.
"There have been some very impressive proposals from Tata Steel in terms of securing long term future of the works.
"But on the other hand there are some difficult proposals for the workers to swallow in terms of the pension scheme and the workforce should be allowed to get all the information they need and to vote according what they think is the best thing to do.
"It is not right that any politician should be coming in and meddling in what is a very personal decision."


The Law Commission should consider axing ancient rights claimed by "lords of the manor", an MPs' report has said.

"Manorial rights", dating back to the Middle Ages, can give holders powers to hunt, shoot and fish or even dig for minerals on other people's land.
The Commons Justice Committee heard that some homeowners had bought property unaware that they were not entitled to the full land rights.
Compensation could be offered if the titles were scrapped, the MPs said.
A 2002 law required holders of manorial rights to register their claims before October 2013. Around 90,000 claims were made in the year before the deadline.
The MPs said people across the country discovered for the first time that their properties were subject to rights owned by a third party - the holder of the lord of the manor title.
Source: Land Registry
"House owners were astonished to find manorial rights registered on their properties, and worried that this would affect them when selling the house or getting a mortgage," said the Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith, who chairs the committee.
"The lack of understanding of such rights, and the way the registration process was carried out and communicated, has led to understandable concerns and anxieties. We have had numerous representations, both from MPs on their constituents' behalf, and from individual members of the public affected by registrations on their properties."
"They all called for either the abolition of these rights or a review of the law."
The MPs heard how some of the powers, particularly mining rights over rural land, could be of "considerable and real value to the rights holders".
In Welwyn Garden City, around 500 households in the Handside area were told Lord Salisbury had registered claims to manorial rights over their properties.
The householders had been reassured there was "no intention for the rights to be exercised", the committee heard.
On Anglesey, a Cheshire businessman, Stephen Hayes, who bought the title of Lord of the Manor of Treffos in 1992, registered claims on around 4,000 properties in 2013.
After protests from residents and "considerable local public pressure", Mr Hayes agreed to drop all his original rights claims, the committee's report said.
Some manorial rights were "impossible to exercise and of no practical significance", the MPs said.
The committee said the Law Commission, the body which scrutinises existing legislation, should assess whether some or all of the rights should be abolished and consider whether compensation could be offered to title holders.


The body of an Irishwoman murdered in India could be released on Friday, a repatriation charity has said.

The body of Danielle McLaughlin, from County Donegal, was found in a field in Goa on Tuesday. The 28-year-old had been raped and strangled.
Police have said a man has confessed to the rape and murder of Ms McLaughlin.
The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust is working to return her remains to her family home in Buncrana in the Republic of Ireland.
Colin Bell from the charity said arrangements are in place for the repatriation, and said he is waiting for Indian authorities to release the body.
"I have been speaking with the [UK] Foreign Office and also with the [Irish] Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin," he said.
"They are both hopeful that her body could be released [on Friday]."
Ms McLaughlin had travelled to Goa with a friend and they were staying in a beach hut, a police officer told Associated Press.
They were attending the Hindu spring festival of Holi on Monday night in a nearby village, he added.
Ms McLaughlin's naked body was discovered the next day, less than 2km (1.2 miles) from Palolem, one of the most popular beaches in south Goa.
Her mother, Andrea Brannigan, said the eldest of her five daughters would be "sadly missed by all" and the family is enduring a "difficult and trying time".
A 24-year-old man, whose name has been reported as Vikat Bhagat, appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with murder.
He will also face a rape charge after a post-mortem examination of Ms McLaughlin's body confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.


Sometime after the 9/11 attacks on New York, two Americans went to the Algerian capital, Algiers, on a secret mission.

For centuries, the city has been a place of grim fascination for outsiders.
The raising of the US Navy as a permanent full-time force was a response to the depredations of the Barbary Corsairs - the pirate force which based itself in the Muslim ports of the Maghreb and preyed on Western shipping.
The Casbah of Algiers - a steep and twisting warren of white stone buildings that spills down to the Mediterranean shore like a heap of dirty sugar-cubes - had been one of their strongest redoubts.
And 20 years ago, Algeria was gripped by a vicious civil war which may have killed as many as 200,000 people.
The conflict was triggered when the military-backed government scrapped an election in the early 1990s after the first-round results suggested that Islamists were on the point of winning.
But these Americans were interested in a third, equally dark and bitter period of Algerian history - the struggle for liberation from French colonialism in the 1950s and 1960s.
They had come to seek out Yacef Saadi, the Algerian guerrilla leader whose memoirs of the independence war formed the basis of the film, La Bataille d'Algers (The Battle of Algiers), which remains one of the most compelling studies of insurrection and counter-insurgency ever recorded.
I made the same journey as the two US intelligence officers up the steep hills to the south of Algiers to find the spacious villa where Mr Saadi now lives, commanding a stunning view of the city he helped turn into a battleground to free his country.
It is possible that I had a more fruitful visit than the Americans.
When Mr Saadi realised from the nature of their questions that they were intelligence officials trying to gather information that might help the United States in its newly-launched war in Iraq, he had some blunt advice for them.
"Listen," he said. "The day you land in Iraq is the day you lose the war there."
He was not surprised that the Americans had sought him out.
It has long been said that the Pentagon uses The Battle of Algiers as a training aid, encouraging young officers to watch it.
In part, this is presumably because some of the observations about an army from a Western, Christian country fighting a Muslim, Arab insurrection are still valid.
It is also a salutary reminder of how hard an indigenous guerrilla force will fight against a foreign invader.
Mr Saadi makes the point that the Americans could have learned that story in Vietnam but he acknowledges that it is there in his own life-story too.
But partly the film's enduring power comes simply from the fact that it was a brilliant piece of story-telling, its grainy monochrome texture lending a newsreel authenticity and a dark urgency.
It is something of a miracle that it turned out to offer such a subtle narrative of intertwined stories and perspectives.
An early plan for the project was called Para! and would have told the story from the French point of view.
And the finished product is based on the memoirs of a man the French would have regarded as a ruthless terrorist.
Even though he had been invited to make the film by the authorities in newly-independent Algeria, the Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo somehow managed to stick to his plan to reflect the parallel narratives which between them provide the full story of the war.
The French tortured prisoners, staged brutal reprisal raids and deployed paratroopers in the Casbah to bully the local civilian population into submission.
The Algerians used no-warning bomb attacks and were ruthless in hunting down agents of the French government - and anyone suspected of collaborating with them - when they were at their most defenceless.
There is one sequence in which three Algerian Muslim women remove their robes and headscarves and dress in European clothes to allow them to slip through French security and plant no-warning bombs in civilian area, including an airline office and a cafe.
The slow passage of time, as the minutes tick by towards detonation while young people in the cafe dance to a song called "See You Tomorrow," must be among the most tense moments in the movie.
For many of the dancers, you know, there will be no tomorrow.
I stood with Mr Saadi on his balcony looking over the dirty white stone city to the sharp blue of the Mediterranean.
"There were battles everywhere," he told me. "Attacks even in the sleepiest suburbs, first to take their weapons and then to fight them."
I asked him, as I often ask old soldiers, if the darker memories of those violent days ever haunt his dreams. He gave me the shortest answer I have ever heard.
"Of course not," he said. 'Victory was ours."
I wondered what those two American visitors had made of the man whose life story has become a kind of handbook for how a small, irregular army with the right motivation can fight and beat a much larger and better-armed force.
"They didn't need to come to see me to ask that," he told me. "All you need to know to understand that is that we won our freedom."


Welsh rider Chaz Davies won a sixth successive World Superbikes race as champion Jonathan Rea ended the 2016 season by finishing third in Qatar.

Englishman Tom Sykes came second to deny Davies the runner-up spot behind Rea in the championship standings.
Northern Ireland's Rea clinched the title in Saturday's opener and moved from ninth to second after a red flag.
Two-time title winner Rea let his team-mate Sykes pass on the final lap to ensure a series one-two for Kawasaki.
Rea became the first rider since Carl Fogarty in 1999 to win successive World Superbikes titles with his second-placed finish in race one.
He ran off the track on the opening lap on Sunday and rejoined near the back of the field as Davies led from Sykes.
A red-flag for oil on the track gave Rea the chance to close the gap and he blistered his way through the field to put the pressure on Davies.
A thrilling finish was in store until Rea slowed to allow Sykes through and leave him two points ahead of Ducati rider Davies, who chalked up his 11th win of the campaign.
Sylvain Guintoli finished fourth in this year's finale with Leo Haslam and Jordi Torress completing the top six.


A court has heard how a squatter tried to sell a cottage in the Scottish Borders for £70,000 without the knowledge of the owner.

Ewan Turner, 36, moved into two-bedroomed Kirnie Cottage in Walkerburn when he noticed it was vacant.
He then tried to cash in by pretending to be the owner and convincing an estate agent to put it on the market.
Selkirk Sheriff Court was told the attempt was "doomed to failure". Sentence was deferred until December.
The offence happened after the property's owner died last year and left the cottage to a beneficiary.
At that point Turner, who was already a squatter in the building, hatched his plan to sell it.
His lawyer Greg McDonnel said the scheme was bound to fail.
He told the court: "The moment he contacted any solicitor in respect of an offer, it would be discovered the property would not be in his name.
"When an offer was made he took the property off the market and tried to let it out instead."
Turner admitted a charge of pretending to be the owner of the cottage between March and May 2011 and attempting to induce someone to sell it on his behalf and get the proceeds by fraud.
Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told the court Turner had been squatting in the property for nine months when he decided to try and sell it.
He was able to convince an estate agent to put it on the market by providing a council tax bill, an energy bill and correspondence from Scottish Water with his name on it.
Turner, of Abbotsford Road, Galashiels, claimed the place was lying derelict when he first spotted it and had spent £8,000 on it making it liveable putting in new flooring, electrics and doors.
He was also paying the energy bills for the cottage.
But his plan to sell the property fell apart when the will beneficiary saw a "For Sale" sign in the garden and contacted police.
Sheriff Kevin Drummond, who noted Turner had a previous conviction for fraud, described the plan to sell the house as "fantasy".
He deferred sentence until 17 December for background reports.


A 2,600-home expansion to the UK's first "eco-town" has been given the green light.

Permission to add to the development, in Bicester, Oxfordshire, will make the project the largest of its type in the UK, it is claimed.
Cherwell District Council granted permission for the zero-carbon homes, in addition to 393 already under construction.
Further plans for 3,500 more homes have yet to be approved.
Plans for the development, on the north western side of the town, include a new school, road network, and 250 care apartments for the elderly.
Planning committee vice chairman Colin Clarke described the project, which includes roof solar panels on all properties, as "unique".
"It's by far the largest project of its type anywhere in the UK," he said.
"It's very aspirational...the idea is to make sure the whole estate looks after itself."
Mr Clarke said the locations of green spaces, football pitches, a "desperately needed" burial ground, and the realignment of the A4095 still needed to be discussed in detail.
Work on an initial batch of 393 homes began last April and is expected to be completed within four-and-a-half years.
Of those, 91 are set to be built by the end of 2015, with the first residents expected to move on-site in the late summer.
The council said it hopes to complete all phases of the development by 2031.


A 4x4 had to be winched to safety in Swansea after it got stuck in the sea, the coastguard said.

The vehicle got into difficulty in wet sand after the driver had retrieved his rigid inflatable boat at The Mumbles on Friday.
The alarm was raised at 11:45 BST, as the tide reached above its wheels.
A recovery firm pulled the 4x4 clear, with no one injured, Milford Haven Coastguard said.


Which Premier League teams will be most affected by their players heading to the Africa Cup of Nations?

With most of the 16 nations' squads confirmed, we take a look at who is on their way to the tournament in Gabon, which takes place between 14 January and 5 February.
Players whose teams reach the latter stages are certain to miss at least four Premier League matches.
Burkina Faso
Goalkeepers: Moussa Germain Sanou (Beauvais, France), Herve Koffi (ASEC Mimosas, Ivory Coast), Aboubacar Sawadogo (RC Kadiogo, Burkina Faso)
Defenders: Patrick Malo (Smouha, Egypt), Issoufou Dayo (RC Berkane, Morocco), Bakary Kone (Malaga, Spain), Issouf Paro (Santos, South Africa), Steeve Yago (Toulouse, France), Souleymane Kouanda, (ASEC Mimosas, Ivory Coast), Yacouba Coulibaly (RC Bobo, Burkina Faso)
Midfielders: Charles Kabore (Krasnodar, Russia), Prejuce Nacoulma (Kayserispor, Turkey), Alain Traore (Kayserispor, Turkey), Bertrand Traore (Ajax, Netherlands), Cyrille Bayala (Sheriff Tiraspol, Moldova), Bakary Sare (Moreirense, Portugal), Blati Toure (Omonia, Cyprus), Adama Guira (Lens, France), Abdoul Razack Traore (Karabuspor, Turkey), Jonathan Zongo (Almeria, Spain)
Strikers: Jonathan Pitroipa (Al Nasr/UAE), Aristide Bance (ASEC Mimosas, Ivory Coast), Banou Diawara (Smouha, Egypt)
Cameroon
Goalkeepers: Fabrice Ondoa (Sevilla, Spain), Jules Goda (AC Ajaccio, France), Georges Mbokwe (Coton Sport de Garoua, Cameroon).
Defenders: Ernest Mabouka (MSK Zilina, Slovakia), Nicolas Nkoulou (Lyon, France), Ambroise Oyongo (Montreal Impact, Canada), Mohamed Djeitei (Nastic Tarragone, Spain), Fai Collins (Standard Liege, Belgium), Michael Ngadeu Ngadjui (Slavia Prague, Czech Rep), Adolphe Teikeu (Sochaux, France), Jonathan Ngwem (FC Progresso, Angola).
Midfield: Sebastien Siani (Ostende, Belgium), Georges Mandjeck (Metz, France), Arnaud Djoum (Hearts), Franck Boya (Apejes, Cameroon).
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Besiktas, Turkey), Benjamin Moukandjo (Lorient, France), Jacques Zoua (Kaiserslautern, Germany), Edgar Salli (Saint-Gall, Switzerland), Karl Toko-Ekambi (Angers, France), Clinton Njie (Marseille, France), Robert Ndip Tambe (Spartak Trnava, Slovakia), Christian Bassogog (Aalborg).
Gabon
Goalkeepers: Didier Ovono (KV Ostende, Belgium), Yves Stephane Bitseki Moto (CF Mounana, Gabon), Anthony Mfa Mezui (unattached).
Defenders: Lloyd Palun (Red Star, France), Andre Biyogho Poko (Kardemir Karabukspor, Turkey), Aaron Appindangoye (Stade Lavallois, France), Franck Perrin Obambou (Stade Mandji, Gabon), Bruno Ecuele Manga (Cardiff City), Yoann Wachter (CS Sedan Ardennes, France), Johann Serge Obiang (ESTAC Troyes, France), Benjamin Ze Ondo (Mosta FC, Malta).
Midfielders: Junior Serge Martinsson Ngouali (IF Brommapojkarna, Sweden), Levy Clement Madinda (Nastic Tarragona, Spain), Guelor Kanga Kaku (Etoile Rouge de Belgrade, Serbia), Merlin Tandjigora (Meixian Hakka FC, China), Didier Ibrahim Ndong (Sunderland), Samson Mbingui (Raja Casablanca, Morocco), Mario Rene Junior Lemina (Juventus, Italy).
Forwards: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Malick Evouna (Tianjin Teda FC, China), Denis Athanase Bouanga (Tours FC, France), Serge Kevyn Aboue Angoue (Uniao Leiria, Portugal), Cedric Ondo Biyoghe (CF Mounana, Gabon).
Guinea-Bissau
Goalkeepers: Jonas Mendes (Salgueiros, Portugal), Rui Dabo (Cova da Piedade, Portugal), Papa Massé Mbaye Fall (Aguadulce, Spain)
Defenders: Emmanuel Mendy (Ceahlaul, Romania), Rudinilson Silva (Lechia Gdansk, Poland), Juary Soares (Mafra, Portugal), Agostinho Soares (Sporting Covilha, Portugal), Mamadu Candé (Tondela, Portugal), Eridson Mendes Umpeça (Freamunde, Portugal)
Midfielders: Nani Soares (Felgueiras, Portugal), Jose Mendes Lopes Zezinho (Levadiakos, Greece), Bocoundji Ca (Reims, France), Tony Silva Brito (Levadiakos, Greece), Toni Silva (Levadiakos, Greece), Piqueti Djassi Brito (Braga), Idrissa Camara (Avellino, Italy), Jean Paul Mendy (US Quevilly-Rouen, France), Francisco Santos Junior (Stromsgodset, Norway), Lassana Camara Sana (Académico de Viseu, Portugal)
Forwards: Joao Mario Fernandes (Chaves, Portugal), Abel Issa Camara (Belenenses, Portugal), Amido Balde (CS Marítimo, Portugal), Frederic Mendy (Ulsan Hyundai, South Korea)
Algeria
Goalkeepers: Rais Ouhab M'bolhi (Antalyaspor, Turkey), Malik Asselah (JS Kabylie, Algeria), Chemseddine Rahmani (MO Bejaia, Algeria).
Defenders: Mokhtar Belkhiter (Club Africain, Tunisia), Mohamed Rabie Meftah (USM Alger, Algeria), Aissa Mandi (Real Betis, Spain), Hicham Belkaroui (Esperance, Tunisia), Liassine Cadamuro (Servette Geneva, Switzerland) , Mohamed Benyahia (USM Alger, Algeria), Ramy Bensebaïni (Stade Rennes, France), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli, Italy), Djamel Eddine Mesbah (FC Crotone, Italy).
Midfielders: Adlene Guedioura (Watford), Saphir Taider (Bologna, Italy), Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke 04, Germany), Mehdi Abeid (Dijon, France), Yassin Brahimi (FC Porto, Portugal), Rachid Ghezzal (Olympique Lyon, France).
Forwards: Islam Slimani (Leicester City), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Hilal Soudani El Arabi (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd, Qatar), Sofiane Hanni (Anderlecht, Belgium).
Senegal
Goalkeepers: Khadim N'Diaye (Horoya AC, Guinea), Abdoulaye Diallo (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey), Pape Seydou N'Diaye (ASC Niarry Tally).
Defenders: Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor, Turkey), Cheikh M'Bengue (Saint-Etienne, France), Kara Mbodj (Anderlecht, Belgium), Zargo Toure (Lorient, France), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli, Italy), Saliou Ciss (Valenciennes, France).
Midfielders: Idrissa Gana Gueye  (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham), Cheikh N'Doye (Angers, France), Papakouli Diop (Espanyol, Spain), Henri Saivet (Saint-Etienne, France), Papa Alioune Ndiaye (Osmanlispor, Turkey), Mohamed Diame (Newcastle).
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Keita Balde Diao (Lazio, Italy), Moussa Konate (FC Sion, Switzerland), Famara Diedhiou (Angers, France), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City), Ismaila Sarr (Metz, France), Moussa Sow (Fenerbahce, Turkey).
Tunisia
Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi (Etoile du Sahel, Tunisia), Rami Jridi (Club Sportif Sfaxien, Tunisia), Moez Ben Chrifia (Esperance de Tunis, Tunisia).
Defenders: Ali Maaloul (Al Ahly, Egypt), Hamza Mathlouthi (CS Sfaxien, Tunisia), Syam Ben Youssef (Caen, France), Mohamed Ali Yacoubi (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey), Aymmen Abdennour (Valencia, Spain), Chamseddine Dhaouadi (Esperance Tunis, Tunisia), Slimane Kchok (Club Athletic Bizertin, Tunisia), Hamdi Nagguez (Etoile, Tunisia), Zied Boughattas (Etoile, Tunisia).
Midfielders: Ferjani Sassi (ES Tunis, Tunisia), Larry Azouni (Nimes Olympique, France), Naim Sliti (Lille, France), Whabi Khazri (Sunderland), Mohamed Amine Ben Amor (Etoile, Tunisia), Ahmed Khalil (Al-Ahli, UAE), Hamzir Lahmar (Etoile, Tunisia), Youssef Msakni (Lekhwiya SC, Qatar).
Forwards: Yassine Khenissi (ES de Tunis, Tunisia), Ahmed Akaichi (Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia), Saber Khalifa (Club Africain, Tunisia).
Zimbabwe
Goalkeepers: Donovan Bernard (How Mine), Takabva Mawaya (ZPC Kariba), Tatenda Mkuruva (Dynamos)
Defenders: Teenage Hadebe, Lawrence Mhlanga (both Chicken Inn), Onismor Bhasera (SuperSport Utd/South Africa), Bruce Kangwa (Azam/Tanzania), Oscar Machapa (V Club/Ivory Coast), Elisha Muroiwa (Dynamos), Costa Nhamoinesu (Sparta Prague/Czech Republic),  Hardlife Zvirekwi (CAPS Utd)
Midfielders: Kudakwashe Mahachi, Danny Phiri (both Golden Arrows/South Africa), Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns/South Africa), Willard Katsande (Kaizer Chiefs/South Africa, capt), Marvelous Nakamba (Vitesse Arnhem/Netherlands)
Strikers: Tinotenda Kadewere (Djurgardens/Sweden), Cuthbert Malajila (Wits/South Africa), Nyasha Mushekwi (Dalian Yifang/China), Knowledge Musona (Ostend/Belgium), Tendai Ndoro (Orlando Pirates/South Africa), Evans Rusike (Maritzburg/South Africa), Mathew Rusike (CS Sfaxien/Tunisia)
Congo DR
Full squad to follow
Ivory Coast
Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (Mazembe, Congo DR), Mande Sayouba (Stabaek, Norway), Ali Badra Sangare (Tanda, Ivory Coast).
Defenders: Eric Bailly (Manchester United), Serge Aurier (Paris St-Germain, France), Simon Deli (Slavia Prague, Czech Rep), Wilfried Kanon (The Hague, Netherlands), Lamine Kone (Sunderland), Adama Traore (Basel, Switzerland), Bagayoko Mamadou (Saint Truiden, Belgium).
Midfielders: Geoffrey Serey Die (Basel, Switzerland), Victorien Angban (Grenada, Spain), Cheick Doukoure (Metz, France), Franck Kessie (Bergamo, Italy), Yao Serge N'Guessan (Nancy, France), Jean-Michael Seri (Nice, France).
Forwards: Wilfried Bony (Stoke City), Max Gradel (Bournemouth), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa), Giovanni Sio (Rennes, FRA), Salomon Kalou (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Nicolas Pepe (Angers, France), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace).
Morocco
Goalkeepers: Yassine El-Kharroubi (Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Bulgaria), Yassine Bounou (Girona, Spain), Munir Kajoul Mohamedi (Numancia, Spain)
Defenders: Manuel da Costa (Olympiakos, Greece), Mehdi Benatia (Juventus, Italy), Amine Attouchi (Wydad Casablanca), Fouad Chafik (Dijon, France), Nabil Dirar (Monaco, France), Hamza Mendyl (Lille, France), Romain Saiss (Wolves)
Midfielders: Mourir Obbadi (Lille, France), Karim El-Ahmadi (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Nancy, France), Mbarek Boussoufa (Al-Jazeera, UAE), Faycal Fajr (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain), Mehdi Carcela (Grenada, Spain), Omar El Kadouri (Napoli, Italy)
Forwards: Rachid Alioui (Nimes, France), Youssef El-Arabi (Al-Lekhwiya, Qatar), Youssef Ennesyri (Malaga, Spain), Khalid Boutaib (Racing Strasbourg, France), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St Pauli, Germany).
Morocco have not yet named an injury replacement for Sofiane Boufal (Southampton), who withdrew on 8 January
Togo
Goalkeepers: Kossi Agassa (unattached), Cedric Mensah (Le Mans, France), Baba Tchagouni (Marmande, France).
Defenders: Serge Akakpo (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Vincent Bossou (Young Africans, Tanzania), Dakonam Djene (St Truiden, Belgium), Joseph Douhadji (River United, Nigeria), Maklibe Kouloun (Dyto Lome), Abdul Mamah Gaffar (Dacia, Moldovia), Sadat Ouro-Akoriko (Al Khaleej, Saudi Arabia), Hakim Ouro-Sama (Togo-Port).
Midfielders: Lalawele Atakora (Helsingborg, Sweden), Franco Atchou (Dyto Lome), Floyd Ayite (Fulham), Razak Boukari (Chateauroux, France), Mathieu Dossevi (Standard Liege, Belgium), Henritse Eninful (Doxa Katakopias, Cyprus), Victor Nukafu Victor (Entente Deux), Alaixys Romao (Olympiakos, Greece), Prince Segbefia (Goztepe, Turkey).
Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor (unattached), Komlan Agbegniadan (Wafa, Ghana), Ihlas Bebou (Fortuna Düsseldorf, Germany), Serge Gakpe (Genoa, Italy), Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba (Renissance Berkane, Morocco).
Egypt
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El-Shennawy (Zamalek, Egypt) Essam El-Hadary (Wadi Degla, Egypt), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly, Egypt).
Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly, Egypt), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City), Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al-Ahli, Egypt), Karim Hafez (Lens, France), Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ahly, Egypt), Saad Samir (Al Ahly, Egypt), Ahmed Dweidar (Zamalek, Egypt), Ali Gabr (Zamalek, Egypt), Omar Gaber (Basel, Switzerland).
Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal, England), Tarek Hamed (Zamalek, Egypt), Ibrahim Salah (Zamalek, Egypt), Abdallah El-Said (Al Ahly, Egypt), Amr Warda (Panetolikos, Greece), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Mahmoud Hassan (Royal Mouscron, Belgium).
Forwards: Ahmed Hassan (Braga, Portugal), Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly, Egypt), Mahmoud Abdel-Moneim  (Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia), Mohamed Salah (AS Roma, Italy).
Ghana
Goalkeepers: Razak Brimah (Cordoba/Spain), Abdul-Fatau Dauda (Enyimba/Nigeria), Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars)
Defenders: Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew/USA), Andy Yiadom (Barnsley), Baba Rahman (Schalke/Germany), Frank Acheampong (Anderlecht/Belgium), John Boye (Sivasspor/Turkey), Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew/USA), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Edwin Gyimah (Orlando Pirates/South Africa)
Midfielders: Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese/Italy), Afriyie Acquah (Torino/Italy), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid/Spain)  Mubarak Wakaso (Panathinaikos/Greece), Christian Atsu (Newcastle United), Ebenezer Ofori (AIK Stockholm/Sweden), Samuel Tetteh (Leifering/Austria)
Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ahly/UAE), Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa), Andre Ayew (West Ham), Ebenezer Assifuah (Sion/Switzerland), Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke/Germany)
Mali
Goalkeepers: Soumaila Diakite (Stade Malien, Mali), Djigui Diarra (Stade Malien, Mali), Oumar Sissoko (Orleans, France).
Defenders: Ousmane Coulibaly (Panathinaikos, Greece), Hamari Traore (Stade de Reims, France),  Molla Wague (Udinese, Italy), Salif Coulibaly (TP Mazembe, Congo DR), Mohamed Oumar Konate (RS Berkane, Morocco), Mahamadou N'Diaye (Troyes, France), Youssouf Kone (Lille, France), Charles Traore (Troyes, France).
Midfielders: Yves Bissouma (Lille, France), Mamoutou Ndiaye (Antwaerp, Belgium), Lassana Coulibaly (Bastia, France), Yacouba Sylla (Montpellier, France), Samba Sow (Kayseryspor, Turkey), Adama Traore (Monaco, France), Sambou Yatabare (Werder Bremen, Germany).
Forwards: Moussa Doumbia (Rostov, Russia), Moussa Marega (Guimares, Portugal), Kalifa Coulibaly (La Gantoise, Belgium), Moustapha Yatabare (Kardemir Karabukspor, Turkey), Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace).
Uganda
Goalkeepers: Robert Odongkara (Saint George, Ethiopia), Magoola Salim Omar (El Merriekh, Sudan), Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa).
Defenders: Azira Michael (Colorado Rapids, USA), Awany Timothy Dennis (KCCA, Uganda), Joseph Ochaya (KCCA, Uganda), Geoffrey Kizito (Than Quang Ninh, Vietnam), Murushid Juuko (Simba, Tanzania), Isaac Isinde (unattached), Denis Iguma (Al Ahed, Lebanon), Nico Wadada Wakiro (Vipers, Uganda).
Midfielders: Tony Mawejje (Thotur, Iceland), Sentamu Junior Yunus (Ilves, Finland), Khalid Aucho (Baroka, South Africa), Batambuze Shafik (Tusker, Kenya), Muhammad Shaban (Onduparaka, Uganda), Moses Oloya (Hanoi T and T, Vietnam), Godfrey Walusimbi (Gor Mahia, Kenya), Hassan Mawanda Wasswa (Nijmeh, Lebanon).
Forwards: Geofrey Sserunkuma (KCCA, Uganda), Luwagga William Kizito (Rio Ave, Portugal), Geoffrey Massa (Baroka, South Africa), Faruku Miya (Standard Liege, Belgium).


Big UK net firms have begun blocking access to two sites accused of flouting copyright laws.

The blocks were imposed after the Motion Picture Association (MPA) won a court order compelling ISPs to cut off the Movie2K and Download4All websites.
However, pro-piracy activists have set up a copy of the Movie2K website in a bid to get around the restrictions.
The action comes as a music industry group publishes a list of 25 sites it wants blocked for pirating pop.
The MPA, which is the international arm of the Motion Picture Association of America, went to court arguing that the two websites broke the UK's Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. Both the websites let people download or stream copies of recently released movies that have been ripped from DVDs.
The UK's largest ISPs, BT, Virgin, Talk Talk, Sky and EE, are all believed to have complied with the order and stopped their customers reaching the sites.
It is not clear how effective the blocks will be as TorrentFreak reports that the pro-piracy PirateReverse group has created a copy of Movie2K that people can access if they cannot get through to the main site.
The latest action brings to six the number of sites that music and movie makers have successfully used court action to block.
In February, UK ISPs were told to cut off access to three sites, Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy, that the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said were aiding piracy. In addition, prior to that ruling, UK ISPs were told to prevent customers getting at the notorious Pirate Bay website that shares links to copyrighted material.
The BPI is believed to be seeking to block many more sites as it circulates a list of 25 domains it says are involved in pirating popular music. Included in the list are well-known sites such as Grooveshark, Isohunt, Filestube and Monova.
The list is being shared among music labels and recording companies in a bid to find out if any of its members have licensed music to the sites.
Not all the sites may end up being blocked as an earlier list circulated by the BPI that mentioned six sites only led to court action against three.


Algerian MPs have passed a package of reforms that include reinstating a limit on presidential terms and giving the Berber language official status.

The language can now appear on official documents, although Arabic will remain the language of government.
A two-term limit on the presidency was lifted in 2008 to allow Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term.
The limit is part of a package of constitutional reforms that authorities say will strengthen democracy.
Opposition leaders have dismissed the changes as superficial.
The Berber language - known locally as Amazigh - was recognised in 2002 as a national language, meaning it could be taught officially in schools in Berber-speaking regions.
But Berbers pushed for it to be awarded official status, meaning it would also be accepted on administrative documents.
The Berbers were the original inhabitants of North Africa before the seventh century Arab invasion, and they now make up 13 million of Algeria's 39 million people.
Among the other reforms are the promise of an independent electoral commission and recognition of the roles of women and youth.
And the president will be required to nominate a prime minister from the largest party in parliament.
The changes were among those promised by President Bouteflika following the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.
The scrapping of terms limits allowed Mr Bouteflika to stand for a third term in 2009. The 78-eight-year old president was re-elected again in 2014 but has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke the previous year.
The package was passed by 499 votes to two, with 16 abstentions, senate speaker Abdelkader Bensalah said.
"This project crowns the process of political reforms promised by the head of state," said Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
The reforms guaranteed "democratic change by means of free elections" and were "a bulwark against the vagaries of political change", he added.
But opposition critics say the reforms are little more than a show and will do little to reduce the grip on power held by Mr Bouteflika and his inner circle.
With his terms nearly at an end, there are fears of instability in the mainly Muslim country of 40 million, a key energy producer.
Unlike many countries in the region, including its neighbours Libya and Tunisia, Algeria was unaffected by the Arab Spring.
But it is facing a range of challenges, including regular jihadist attacks and sporadic outbreaks of violence between Berbers and Arabs.


Storm Abigail is set to hit Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England on Thursday night.

12 November 2015 Last updated at 15:33 GMT
It's the first storm to be named by the Met Office, who are the people in charge of keeping track of the weather here.
Here's a forecast for the next few days.


Sky has warned some of its customers they are likely to receive letters demanding cash for illegally downloaded pornographic films.

The letters, from the Golden Eye company, which has previously targeted O2 customers, threaten legal action.
While Sky stops short of telling users not to pay, it advises them to "carefully read the letter".
The practice of so-called speculative invoicing has been criticised by judges and solicitors in other cases.
Speculative invoicing is defined by the Citizens' Advice Bureau as a "pay up or else" scheme in which "some unscrupulous solicitors and companies... target subscribers to internet services and demand payment from them for copyright infringement to avoid having to go to court".
Sky said Golden Eye had "successfully applied for a court order against Sky".
This required the internet service provider (ISP) to hand over the IP addresses Golden Eye had identified as being associated with downloading films illegally.
"We have written to all affected customers, advising them carefully to read the letter from Golden Eye, and if they want any further help, to contact the Citizens' Advice Bureau," Sky said.
Golden Eye director Julian Becker told the BBC that letters would be sent to "thousands" of Sky customers.
He denied that the company was involved in speculative invoicing, saying that "rights holders... both adult and mainstream producers have every right to protect their content and livelihood from internet thieves".
"We have only written to those account holders for whom we have evidence of copyright infringement," he said.
He added that the firm did intend to pursue cases in court if defendants did not want to settle and had issued proceedings against a number of people.
But not everyone is convinced by the firm's motivation.
Michael Coyle, who has represented hundreds of clients who have faced similar letters, said those people who receive them were in a difficult position.
"If they go to a solicitor, they will want a minimum of Â£500 to Â£700, and that is about what Golden Eye will ask for compensation, so many will think that it is easier to pay to make it go away," he said.
He advised people who received the letters to write back to Golden Eye asking what proof it had that they had downloaded the material or seek professional advice.
He said it was "unlikely" Golden Eye would take any of the cases to court as it would be very difficult for it to prove anyone had downloaded the films, without "an admittance of guilt or inspecting their hard drive".
Mr Coyle also criticised providers for "rolling over too easily" by giving IP addresses to companies who had taken infringement action previously.
"Parliament also needs to address the safeguards of this, as judges are releasing these orders far too easily," he added.
Golden Eye approached O2 customers in 2012, when it gathered a list of 9,124 IP addresses on behalf of 13 adult entertainment companies.
It was seeking Â£700 per film for copyright infringement.
But in the High Court, Mr Justice Arnold ruled Golden Eye could not justify sending letters demanding that amount of money.
Instead he said that each case should be "individually negotiated" and said that the letters were "capable of causing unnecessary distress because it could be read as an implicit threat of publicity once proceedings have been commenced".
The Citizens' Advice Bureau has written its own guidelines about speculative invoicing.


Lord Ashcroft has missed the UK launch party of the controversial book he co-authored about David Cameron, after suffering liver and kidney failure.

The Conservative peer became ill last month and spent 18 days in intensive care, he confirmed on Twitter.
A spokeswoman said Lord Ashcroft was now recovering in the US and was "out of danger".
The book, Call Me Dave, contains a series of allegations about the prime minister's student days.
It includes claims of drug-taking and a club initiation ceremony, involving a dead pig, that Mr Cameron is said to have taken part in, but the book has been heavily criticised by allies of the prime minister.
Sources have said Mr Cameron was never a member of the club in question, the Piers Gaveston Society, during his time at Oxford University.
Lord Ashcroft suffered septic shock leading to renal and liver failure and heart damage, a report from Channel 5 TV in Belize reported.
The report, which was played to guests at the launch event in London, said he had become unwell in Turkey on 22 September - where he had been visiting war graves to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign - the day after the Daily Mail started serialising the book.
He later flew to Turks and Caicos but his condition deteriorated and on his arrival he was admitted to hospital before being rushed by air ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Lord Ashcroft, who grew up in Belize, is said to be recovering in hospital in America.
At the London book launch, a speech was read out on his behalf by publisher Iain Dale.
"As you will have just seen, I have been a little preoccupied for the last four weeks," he said.
"I haven't of course set foot in the UK since my illness but I am reliably informed that my book has caused a bit of a stir."
The former Conservative Party chairman and donor has previously admitted to having personal "beef" with Mr Cameron after not being offered a major job in the coalition government.
In the book, he says Mr Cameron had been aware of his non-domiciled tax status, which was heavily criticised by Labour, in 2009.
But co-author Isabel Oakeshott has insisted the book was not motivated by revenge.


(Close): Mining shares helped to lift the London stock market after metals prices rose, with copper hitting a two-week high.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 55.5 points at 6,393.13, with shares in mining giant Glencore up 5.8%.
However, BHP Billiton fell 2.5% after JP Morgan cut its rating on the miner to "underweight" from "neutral".
Analysts said the recent dam failure in Brazil could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" for its dividend.
Trading was quiet on Thursday with US markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Tesco shares rose 0.9% after the supermarket said it had paid $12m (£8m) to settle a US lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that Tesco's overstatement of its profits guidance, revealed last year, breached certain US securities laws.
Severn Trent shares rose nearly 1% after the water company reported flat half-year revenues of £896m and a 2.6% rise in underlying profits to £218m.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.07% against the dollar to $1.5120, and edged up 0.08% against the euro to €1.4253.


US department store chain Macy's has seen its share price fall 14% as it cut profit forecasts and announced plans to shed 10,100 jobs to save $550m (Â£447m).

It said 3,900 jobs would go in 2017 as a result of 68 store closures, out of a planned 100 announced last year.
Meanwhile, other changes and reductions in middle management roles are expected to eliminate another 6,200 jobs.
Department stores in the US have been struggling with tough competition from online retailers and discount stores.
Macy's - which owns department store Bloomingdales - also said its profits for the year to 30 January would be lower than previously forecast.
It had expected profits to be between $3.15 and $3.40 a share, but has now cut this to $2.95-$3.10.
Other US department stores also saw significant share price movements on Thursday.
Shares in Kohl's dived 18% as it too cut its profit forecast, while Sears saw its shares rise nearly 6% after it said it would sell its Craftsman tools business to Stanley Black & Decker for $900m.
However, Sears also reported weak holiday trading, with same-store sales in November and December down by 12-13%, and announced plans to close 150 stores.
Macy's revised profit forecast came after the chain's like-for-like sales in November and December saw a fall of 2.1%.
"While our sales trend is consistent with the lower end of our guidance, we had anticipated sales would be stronger," said Macy's chief executive, Terry Lundgren.
Neil Saunders, from research group Conlumino, said the latest move was "a necessary evil" in order to get the company back on track.
"The blunt truth is that many of these locations are simply not going to deliver solid returns, so there is little point trying to revitalise and invest in them.
"Revitalising the business will not be easy. Shopping trends are firmly against Macy's, and its brand, while not completely diminished, is most certainly tarnished.
"In our view, it needs to completely overhaul the experience to make stores easier to shop, more interesting to browse, and more relevant to today's shopper."


Sam Allardyce has resigned as Crystal Palace manager five months after he joined the Premier League club.

Allardyce replaced Alan Pardew in December on a two-and-half-year deal with the Eagles one point above the relegation zone.
The 62-year-old, who had an ill-fated one-game spell as England boss, led the club to eight wins in 21 games to guide them to a 14th-place finish.
"I have no ambitions to take another job," Allardyce said in a statement.
"I want to be able to savour life while I am still relatively young, and when I am still relatively healthy enough to do all the things I want to do, like travel, spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager.
"This is the right time for me. I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League."
Allardyce revealed his decision to chairman Steve Parish at a meeting in London on Tuesday. The Eagles are now looking for their eighth manager in seven years.
Although it took Allardyce six games to get his first victory - with BBC Sport asking if the 'Big Sam bounce had deserted Palace' - the former Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle and West Ham boss maintained his record of never being relegated from the Premier League.
Only Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Harry Redknapp and David Moyes have managed more games in the Premier League.
Allardyce's final game in charge of Palace came on Sunday, a 2-0 loss at Manchester United, having guaranteed safety the previous week by thrashing Hull 4-0.
Following defeat at Old Trafford, Allardyce indicated his plans to improve the squad in the summer.
He had told BBC Sport: "We now need to grow, develop and invest. You need to choose the right players and not the wrong ones. Recruitment is the difficult task in the summer."
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Allardyce left his post as England manager by mutual agreement in September after only one match in charge.
It followed a Daily Telegraph investigation claiming he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.
The FA said Allardyce's conduct "was inappropriate". He apologised, adding "entrapment had won".
"It sounds as if he's going to retire...people might be looking into it and saying 'don't worry he'll be back very soon', but from my understanding this is very much a personal decision
"In some ways, this has been a very difficult decision to make but in others it has been a simple one.
"I will always be grateful to Crystal Palace and Steve Parish for giving me the opportunity to go out with my head held high having helped keep the club in the Premier League.
"More than that, they gave me a chance of rebuilding my reputation after what happened with England. I felt I needed another shot at being a Premier League manager and showing that I still had the ability to achieve something significant. As I said last weekend, Palace gave me the chance of rehabilitation.
"That's why it's hard walking away now. I believe the club are heading in the right direction with a hugely supportive board of directors, a great squad of players and some of the most passionate fans I've ever met.
"But there comes a time when you have to take stock of what direction you want your life to take - and that's been the simple part for me.
"I want to be able to savour life while I'm still relatively young and when I'm still relatively healthy, even if I'm beginning to feel all my 62 years.
"While I've got the energy, I want to travel and also spend more time with my family and grandchildren without the huge pressure that comes with being a football manager. I owe that to my wife and family.
"This is the right time for me, I know that in my heart. I have no ambitions to take another job, I simply want to be able to enjoy all the things you cannot really enjoy with the 24/7 demands of managing any football club, let alone one in the Premier League.
"Steve Parish has been superb during our conversations today. I know it came as a shock to him that I would walk away but our discussions have been incredibly civilised with no recriminations and no fall-out.
"This is not about transfer targets, club finances or anything along those lines. This is me taking the decision I believe is right for my family and myself.
"I would like to thank everybody for their messages of support since the news broke. I've no doubt I will miss management but I certainly have no regrets at this decision. It's been a privilege to have worked for them for the past five months."
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Former England captain Bill Beaumont has been elected chairman of rugby union's international governing body, World Rugby.

The 64-year-old Rugby Football Union chairman was the unanimous choice of the World Rugby board, with ex-Argentina international Agustin Pichot taking the role of vice-chairman.
The pair begin their tenure on 1 July.
Beaumont captained England to the grand slam in 1980 and led the Lions tour of South Africa that same year.
Pichot, 41, won 71 caps at scrum-half for Argentina before retiring from playing in 2009.
For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.


In the middle of two huge events and some of the biggest weeks of my career, it feels better than ever to focus on my real priority whenever I can.

My wife Kim is expecting our first child and it's really nice that when I get home I'm not stressing about tennis, but interested in helping her as much as I can.
She has always been great about supporting me throughout my career but the next couple of weeks are going to be stressful, with a lot of big matches.
That means getting to spend time together now is especially nice, because Kim's quite far along and we have something more important to talk about and distract us - or distract me - from the tennis.
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There is certainly plenty of tennis to think about with the Davis Cup final following straight after the ATP World Tour Finals.
The switch of surfaces, from indoor hard court in London to clay in Belgium, means everything from my training to my schedule to my daily routine is different this year.
I practised on clay at Queen's Club for a few days last week and so I've been coming to the O2 Arena very early in the morning, just to get on the centre court, because I find the conditions there are completely different from the smaller practice courts outside.
I only had a few days to adjust and I wanted to get as much time as I could on that court so my timing is as good as it can be.
It was a little bit off for a couple of games in my first match on Monday and my returning could have been better, but to beat a guy like David Ferrer in straight sets is always encouraging and physically I felt good, so I'm happy about that.
If I hadn't played in London I would have gone into the Davis Cup final without any matches for several weeks, and even though the surface is different, taking on the best players in the world must be great preparation for such a big event.
There have been changes off court as well this year with the players staying at the Savoy Hotel for the first time - it's really, really nice.
I got told a useless bit of information actually - apparently it's on the only street in the whole country where you drive on the wrong side of the road. I don't know why, and it could be nonsense, but that's what I was told.
I've stayed there every night since Thursday and travelled to the O2 by boat, but on Monday I headed home for a night. That means I missed my brother Jamie again - I haven't seen him since the tournament started.
He's been at home every night I've been at the hotel, and the night I go home he's at the hotel. This is the first time he's qualified for London and he's had an amazing year, I'm very proud of him, but I'm sure he's avoiding me!
I've spoken to a lot of the players and people in tennis about being a parent - when I talk to anyone it's what I end up chatting about - and everyone is extremely positive about having kids.
All the players do things their own way: some of them like to travel with their children, some travel together occasionally, some never do it at all. It's an unusual life and you just have to find what works for you.
I'm sure we will travel together as a family sometimes but Kim doesn't come to lots of the tournaments anyway just now, and I would imagine that I'll spend a little more time at home at certain times of year in future.
In the past, maybe even when I wasn't hitting balls I would head over to Miami early for a training block and train in the gym. In future I might use that week to stay at home, train at the gym here and head over when my tennis starts to pick up.
I'm sure there will be a few changes to the way I've always done things but that will be my priority from now on, ahead of tennis. It's an exciting time on and off the court at the moment and I'm looking forward to every bit of it.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Piers Newbery.


Two women have appeared at Londonderry Magistrates Court charged with attacking a man in the city on Sunday.

The court was told that Samantha Kerrigan, 29, from Bonds Hill and Kim Hazlett, 18, from Francis Street were found in a flat with their clothes covered in blood following a row.
They are charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.
Both women were released on their own bail of Â£500 to appear in court again on 13 August.
They are also charged with false imprisonment and possessing a crutch and brush shaft with intent.
Ms Kerrigan is separately charged with attempting to suffocate, choke or strangle the victim.


Greece paused deportations of migrants to Turkey on Tuesday, a day after the first boats took back 202 people under a controversial EU plan to cut off a migrant route to Europe.

Hundreds more are due to be removed later this week, but the migrants are arriving in Greece faster than they can be sent back.
More than 220 reached the Greek islands on Monday alone, according to the UN.
An increase in asylum claims has also reduced those eligible for deportation.
Under the EU deal with Turkey, migrants arriving illegally in Greece after 20 March are expected to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.
For each Syrian migrant returned to Turkey, the EU is due to take in another Syrian who has made a legitimate request. Two Syrians were deported from Greece on Monday, while 32 were flown from Turkey to Germany and 11 to Finland on Monday. Another 31 Syrians arrived in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Although it was initially thought that none of the 202 migrants sent from Lesbos and Chios to the Turkish coastal town of Dikili on Monday had claimed asylum, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has revealed that 13 of them had expressed an interest but had not been registered by Greek authorities.
"We have expressed concern that this deal is being implemented before the necessary safeguards are in place in Greece and in Turkey, including that it's being rushed - and is premature," UN spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told the BBC.
He said the UN would now work with Turkey to ensure that the 13, including Afghans, would have their applications processed there.
Pope Francis is said to be considering a trip to Lesbos to highlight the difficulties faced by migrants and refugees there.
Although the visit has not been confirmed, the Greek Orthodox Church said it could take place late next week. The Vatican is understood to have approached the Church of Greece, which has also invited the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Among the first deportees from Greece were 130 migrants from Pakistan, and a group of people mainly from Pakistan staged a protest on Tuesday at a detention camp on Lesbos, chanting "Freedom".
A volunteer who had previously worked with the Pakistanis told the BBC that she felt many had legitimate claims for asylum but were worried they would be on the next ferries to Turkey.
Almost all the 3,000 people held in the Moria camp on Lesbos have now made applications, overwhelming the country's asylum service.
Although 400 EU officials and 400 interpreters have been promised to help process the claims, only a handful have arrived on Lesbos so far, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports. Another 62 asylum officers are due to arrive on Wednesday.
Processing of applications is likely to start on Thursday and is expected to take 48 hours. As anyone turned down for asylum has five days to launch an appeal, it could be well over a week before Greek authorities are able to resume deportations in large numbers.
EU border agency Frontex has been calling on EU member states to come forward with additional police officers and other staff to bring its mission in Greece up to strength.
150,703
in 2016, up to 30 March
37% of 2016 arrivals are children
53% arrive on Lesbos
366 died on Turkey-Greece route
853,650 arrivals in 2015
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.


The Thai charge d'affaires has been summoned to the UK Foreign Office over concerns about the inquiry into the murders of two British tourists.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and 24-year-old David Miller were killed in an attack on the island of Koh Tao last month.
Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire told the diplomat there was "concern" about how the investigation had been handled.
Two Burmese workers are said to have confessed to killing the pair, who were discovered on a beach on 15 September.
Police in Thailand have denied subsequent reports that the two men had withdrawn their confessions.
Post-mortem examinations found Mr Miller, from Jersey, died from drowning and a blow to the head, while Miss Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, died from head wounds.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the summons of Nadhavathna Krishnamra on Monday followed a call made by Mr Swire to Thailand's deputy prime minister and foreign minister earlier this month.
In a statement, the FCO said: "Mr Swire stressed that there was a real concern in the UK about how the investigation has been handled by the Thai authorities.
"He said that it was crucial for the investigation to be conducted in a fair and transparent way."
The FCO added: "Mr Swire emphasised how important it was that the UK and Hannah and David's families received regular updates on the investigation's progress.
"He also noted his concern about the way that the police had engaged with the media on the case and reiterated that the UK police stood ready to assist with the investigation and subsequent legal process."
The men charged with the killings were paraded in front of cameras at a news conference after apparently making confessions,
The FCO previously said it was "concerned" about reports the Burmese workers have been mistreated by Thai police and had raised those concerns with the relevant authorities.
The two suspects, both aged 21, are charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and robbery.
Funeral services for Mr Miller and Ms Witheridge have taken place in recent weeks.


E.On has announced a 5.1% reduction in its standard gas price for residential customers.

The company said the cut was the price equivalent of Â£32 off the average annual bill.
It is the first of the big six energy firms to announce a price cut this year.
Pressure has been growing for price reductions in light of big falls in gas and electricity wholesale costs.
Industry regulator Ofgem and Prime Minister David Cameron have joined consumer groups in voicing their concerns.
An ongoing investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been examining the energy market for 18 months.
The chief executive of E.On, Tony Cocker said, "The underlying position is that whilst the price we pay for our customers' energy has fallen, we also have to take into account managing the various other risks in the market which can change, and the fact that many of the other costs that we don't control, but do have to bear have increased or may increase."
E.On said it had Britain's cheapest energy tariff, with the launch of a one-year fixed dual fuel product with an average price of Â£783.
Director of consumer policy at Uswitch, Ann Robinson, said: "Consumers have patiently waited for over six months to see another big six price cut so this move, while welcome, is long overdue.
"Given the fact that wholesale prices are at a five year low, E.ON customers may well feel underwhelmed by the size of this cut.
"Wholesale electricity costs fell 23% last year, so why have we not seen a single reduction to big six standard electricity tariffs? This is yet further evidence that the energy market simply isn't working for most UK households."


Samsung's new flagship mobile phones go on sale today but the company says it may struggle to meet demand for its S6 Edge model.

Although Samsung predicts greater interest in its more conventionally designed S6 model, it is worried about the time it takes to manufacturer components for the distinctive wrap-around touch screen on the S6 Edge.
Experts say it could lead to consumers having to order and then wait for the model, and delay any fall in its price.
Samsung faces strong competition from Apple at the high-end of the market while much cheaper smart phones made in China challenge its position at lower price points.
Mobile analyst, Thomas Husson at Forrester told the BBC: "They [Samsung] will have a serious issue if the shortage is due to the difficulty of producing the curved screen.
"Samsung must succeed in the launch of these new flagship phones to regain leadership in the high-end segment. They have a window of opportunity until the new iPhone comes out. The product and design is great - but [it] lacks service differentiation."
A Samsung UK spokesperson told the BBC the company was "working hard" to fulfil pre-orders and sales "as soon as possible".


Chancellor Philip Hammond has begun discussions with China on an ambitious free trade deal which could see greater access for major Chinese banks and businesses to the UK economy.

The Chancellor told the BBC it was time to explore "new opportunities" across the world, including with China, one of the UK's biggest inward investors.
That is despite a short term economic shock from leaving the European Union.
He added that the EU is not in "punishment mode" over the Brexit vote.
"What we now need to do is get on with it in a way that minimises the economic impact on the UK economy in the short term and maximises the benefit in the long term," Mr Hammond said, admitting that there had been "global disappointment" about the Brexit vote.
Chinese state media reported earlier in the month that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce wants to do a UK free trade deal.
Mr Hammond has now revealed that Britain is also keen.
It will be the first time the UK has embarked on such a major project with the second largest economy in the world.
And will raise concerns about cheap manufactured goods entering the UK more easily.
In return for greater access to the UK for its manufactured products and investment, China would reduce barriers to Britain's service industries like banking and insurance as well as UK goods.
That would be an important source of export income for Britain.
"The mood music that I have heard here is very much that this will mean more opportunity for countries like China that are outside the European Union to do business with Britain," Mr Hammond said.
"And as Britain leaves the European Union and is not bound by the rules of the European Union perhaps it will be easier to do deals with Britain in the future."
I asked if that could mean a free trade deal, bilaterally agreed with China which invested over $5bn (??3.8bn) in the UK in 2014.
"Definitely I could see such a thing," Mr Hammond told me at the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Chengdu, China.
"We already have a strategic partnership with China.
"We have hugely increased our trade with China, investment both by British companies into China and by Chinese entities into the UK.
"That's about as far as we can go while we are members of the European Union.
"But once we are out of the European Union then I have no doubt on both sides we will want to cement that relationship into a firmer structure in a bilateral way that's appropriate.
"That's something we will have to explore in the future."
Mr Hammond said it would be "certainly appropriate" to start discussing a new deal over the next "couple of years" and the issue was raised here at Chengdu.
What might a deal - which could only come after Britain had officially left the EU - look like?
Senior government sources have told me that officials are looking at New Zealand's free trade agreement with China which took four years to negotiate and came into effect in 2008.
Care would have to be taken over security concerns and the possibility of China "dumping" cheap imports in the UK - for example steel.
As well as a positive reaction from China, Mr Hammond said that he did not believe that the EU was trying to teach the UK a lesson over the Brexit vote by making negotiations over trade difficult.
"I don't think they are in punishment mode," he said.
"This is a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors and, as you would expect, they are very much focused on the economic challenges and the economic prizes available.
"I have no doubt that everyone would want to see a very close relationship between the UK and the EU going forward because that will be good for the economies of the European Union and the economy of the UK.
"The challenge for us is to make sure that other politicians who are not so narrowly focused on the economic agenda also share that view and recognise that it is important not just for Britain but for Europe as well that we continue working closely together."
No project better sums up how investment in major infrastructure projects is now a global issue than Hinkley Point, the ??18bn plan for a new nuclear power station in Somerset backed by France's EDF energy company and one of China's main nuclear suppliers.
Mr Hammond said that the government still supported the project, and that a final agreement would be signed "hopefully over the next few days" after an EDF board meeting to agree the details.
At the G20 many countries are now moving into practical mode - the Chancellor campaigned against leaving the EU and China argued against it, but Mr Hammond has clearly signalled that is now a matter for the history books.
The British public have spoken.
The present challenge is seeing how the fifth largest economy in the world can take advantage of that decision, rebuilding a "close" trading relationship with the EU and new economic relationships with countries, like China, which, it should be remembered, has never had a free trade agreement with any EU country.


The Rugby Football League says it has received 10 expressions of interest in creating a new club in Bradford.

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Bradford Bulls were liquidated on Tuesday after the Championship club's administrators were unable to find a suitable buyer.
The RFL has said the new Bradford side will take the place of the old one in the second tier but start the season with a 12-point deduction.
They have set a deadline of Monday, 9 January for bids to be submitted.
A decision is then expected within two weeks and, should an agreement be reached, the new Bradford side would play their first competitive game against Hull KR on Sunday, 5 February.
Jamie Peacock, who captained Bradford to their last Super League title in 2005 before joining Leeds, believes a reformed Bradford club can be successful if they can get through what is likely to be a tough spell in the short term.
"They had the same situation in 1963, reformed in 1964 and were winning trophies again within about five years," former England captain Peacock told BBC Radio 5 live.
"That may be more difficult this time, but I think they've got more chance of being successful now it's not saddled with the debts it's had.
"This year will be a difficult year for the club and whoever starts the club up again, given the handicap of losing 12 points.
"But if they can spend within their means this year and go hard again in 2018, there's no reason why can't become successful again."


Three Wrexham men remain stranded in a town cut off by Saturday's earthquake in Nepal after a helicopter failed to find their exact location.

Jason Russell, 28, his brother Darren, 26, and Daniel Hughes, 36, are in Talu, a small village about 56 miles (90km) from Kathmandu.
A helicopter was sent to the area on Wednesday, but failed to find them. It will return on Thursday.
The 7.8-magnitude quake has claimed more than 5,000 lives.
The three men were part of an organised trip, and spoke to company officials on Wednesday.
Om Shahi, director of Hard Rock Trek, the trekking company the men travelled with, had said earlier on Wednesday that help was on its way.
"They are all OK," Mr Shahi told BBC Wales. "There are landslides and the pass is completely blocked.
"They are stuck in the same place for the last four days."
Mr Shahi had said the men were supposed to be flown to a town called Trisuli Bazar, a small town 70km from Kathmandu, from where they would be able to make their own way to the capital, which would take around three hours.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has confirmed a Briton living overseas is among the victims of the earthquake.
Eight million people have been affected by the disaster, according to the UN, and the British public has donated more than Â£19m to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Earthquake Appeal, a day after it was launched.
Elsewhere, Brecon Beacons national park says it was "overwhelmed" by the public's generosity after appealing for help to gather aid to take out to Nepal.


Rio 2016 organisers have said that the green colour of the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre pool will be rectified "soon", but admitted more "could and should" have been done to prevent the problem.

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Spectators and competitors were left confused during Tuesday's women's synchronised 10m platform final.
The International Swimming Federation (Fina) explained it was caused by water tanks running out of certain chemicals.
But Fina stressed that there was "no risk" to athletes.
It explained that the discoloration was caused by the pH level - or acidity level - of the water being "outside the usual range".
Rio 2016 spokesperson Mario Andrada said: "We did have test events with the same number of divers but we are using the pool for a longer period now.
"The people in charge could and should have done more extensive tests during the day - we probably failed to notice what would happen over time.
"There is no risk to the athletes - an independent group has confirmed that - and the pool should go back to the classic blue colour soon."
The water remained green during the men's synchronised 3m springboard final on Wednesday evening.
Speaking on Tuesday, Great Britain's 10m synchronised diving bronze medallist Tom Daley described the situation as "slightly strange".
However, he admitted the colour helped divers to judge their rotations, as it contrasted with the sky.
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Cyprus's parliament has postponed an emergency session on a controversial bailout deal for the country's banks.

Intense negotiations are under way between political parties amid public anger at a one-off levy of up to 10% being imposed on savers.
President Nicos Anastasiades said refusing the bailout would have led to the collapse of the country's  banks.
The speaker of the European Parliament has called for the levy to be revised to protect small-scale bank customers.
The 10bn-euro ($13bn; Â£8.6bn) deal agreed by the EU and IMF in Brussels marks a radical departure from previous international aid packages.
Under its terms, people in Cyprus with less than 100,000 euros in their accounts would have to pay a one-time tax of 6.75%. Those with sums over that threshold would pay 9.9% in tax.
Depositors will be compensated with the equivalent amount in shares in their banks.
It is believed that eurozone leaders, particularly in Germany, insisted on the levy because of the large amount of Russian capital kept in Cypriot banks, amid fears of money-laundering.
Q&A: Cyprus bailout
UK to help troops
President Anastasiades, who was elected only last month, is due to address the country shortly (from 18:00 GMT).
He said in a statement earlier that Cyprus had had to choose between the "catastrophic scenario of disorderly bankruptcy or the scenario of a painful but controlled management of the crisis".
The president has been meeting with members of the parliament's finance committee, his office said.
On Saturday the head of the committee, Nicholas Papadopoulos, expressed shock at the deal, saying it was "much worse than expected".
The president's Democratic Rally party - which has 20 seats in the 56-member assembly - needs support from other factions to ratify the bailout.
A spokesman for one of its coalition partners, the Democratic Party, told BBC News they wanted assurances that the deal would resolve the problems facing Cyprus before voting in favour.
Opposition leader George Lillikas, an independent, said the president had "betrayed the people's vote".
The speaker of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, argued in a newspaper interview that there should be an exemption from the levy for savers, for example, who had less than 25,000 euros in their accounts.
By Gavin HewittEurope editor
"The solution must be socially acceptable," Mr Schulz, who belongs to Germany's opposition Social Democrats,  told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, defended the levy.
"With this deal, the responsible people are partly included in those countries and not only the taxpayers in other countries," she said at a party meeting in her home constituency.
"And I think it's right that we went down that road and I think it's a good step which will certainly make it easier for us to approve the help for Cyprus."
As with past eurozone bailouts, the deal must be approved by the lower house of parliament in Germany, the EU's biggest economy.
If the levy goes ahead, it will affect many non-Cypriots with bank accounts, including UK expatriates.
However, depositors in the overseas arms of Cypriot banks will not be hit. Bank of Cyprus UK and Laiki Bank UK both confirmed on their websites that there would be no impact.
Chancellor George Osborne said the UK would compensate any government employees and military personnel whose bank accounts were affected.
The levy itself will not take effect until Tuesday, following a public holiday, but action is being taken to control electronic money transfers over the weekend.


An Indian monk from the Jain religion has said he needs eight months to answer a court summons, as he will have to walk in accordance with his faith.

The court in Ahmedabad, 2,200km (1,400 miles) from Kolkata where the monk is now, rejected the request and told him to appear next month.
The monk says he cannot use a vehicle as he has renounced the world.
He is charged with forging a government document to say recruitment of children into Jain monastic orders was legal.
Acharya Kirti Yashurishwarji Maharaj, who is 60, had told the court that he cannot walk more than 10-12 km a day because of a spinal injury and old age, the Times of India newspaper reported.
He had also promised the court that his absence would not hinder proceedings.
However the court not only rejected the request, it also issued a fresh warrant against him.
The practice of inducting children as monks or "bal diksha" is common among Jains, especially those in India's western state of Gujarat, where children as young as eight are inducted as monks.
Mr Maharaj was taken to court by Ahmedabad-based activist Jasmin Shah, who accused him of forgery and misleading the Jain the community.
Her lawyer Nitin Gandhi told BBC Hindi that his client had been able to prove that Mr Maharaj had forged an official gazette notification from the government of India, to say that "bal diksha" was legal.
Earlier this month the Gujarat High Court urged the state government to do more to curb the practice.
India is home to around four million Jains, many of whom live in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan.


Partick Thistle have signed David Crawford on a short-term deal to solve a goalkeeping crisis ahead of their season opener against Airdrieonians.

Scotland's domestic football season kicks off on Friday with three Scottish League Cup ties.
Thistle number one Tomas Cerny had already been ruled out through injury and deputy Ryan Scully is struggling with a thigh strain.
So they turned to 31-year-old Crawford, who was released by Alloa Athletic.
Crawford, who only played 12 times for the Wasps last season as they suffered relegation from the Scottish Championship, featured for the Premiership side as a trialist in a friendly against Greenock Morton last weekend.
Thistle will become the 10th side for whom he has played should he debut against the Diamonds, with Ayr United and Dumbarton among Crawford's former clubs.
Scully, who signed a new two-year contract in May, was hoping to establish himself as first choice after a run of games at the end of last season following an injury to Cerny.
"I got a taste of the action towards the end of the season," said the 23-year-old ahead of Thistle's visit to Excelsior Stadium.
"It was a great experience for me to play at the highest level in Scotland and it gives me the extra bit of confidence knowing I can play at that level.
"With Tomas' form last year, it was going to take an injury for me to step in, but it is up to me now.
"If I get my chance then hopefully I can take it."


Ten-man Derry City held out for a narrow win over Shamrock Rovers that moves them up to third in the table.

Skipper Ryan McBride got the only goal with a 67th minute volley as the visitors battled to an impressive win.
It was only Derry's second match as the opening home game at their temporary base in Buncrana was abandoned because of a floodlight failure.
The Candystripes have now won four of their last five matches against the Hoops.
Derry made a bright start as Barry McNamee's shot from the edge of the area forced a good save from Rovers' keeper Tomer Chencinski in the opening minute.
The home side recovered from that shaky start and gradually began to dominate possession but City keeper Gerard Doherty was barely troubled during the opening period and Brandon Miele's weak free-kick was the only time he was forced into a save.
Instead, Derry finished the half with another chance when Harry Monaghan got on the end of Nicky Low's cross but his header from eight yards out drifted just wide.
The visitors also made a strong start to the second half as a shot from Ronan Curtis was deflected narrowly wide and the winger was unable to hit the target from the resulting corner.
The breakthrough came midway through the second half when McBride pounced on a loose ball.
Aaron McEneff's corner broke to the defender and his volley from six yards out found the bottom corner.
But Derry were reduced to 10 men just minutes later as full-back Lukas Schubert was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
The Hoops pushed forward in search of an equaliser and the closest they came was in the 83rd minute when Darren Meenan was left unmarked at the back post but couldn't steer his header on target.
The defeat leaves Rovers with just one win from their opening three games and already six points adrift of leaders Cork City.
Derry manager Kenny Shields will have to prepare his players for a quick turnaround as they host defending champions Dundalk in Buncrana on Monday.


A council trying to recoup £10.25m it loaned to Northampton Town Football Club has said it could not locate the father of the club's former chairman, it wanted to serve legal papers on.

Northampton Borough Council loaned the money for a redevelopment project, which has yet to be finished.
It wants to start civil proceedings against Anthony Cardoza, but said it could not find an address for him.
The council has been given leave to serve the papers on his solicitors.
As reported in the Northampton Chronicle, the council wants to claw back the money it lent to the Cobblers when Anthony and his son David Cardoza were directors.
Anthony Cardoza is named in the civil proceedings but orders need to be obtained to serve people overseas and it is believed he is living in France.
A spokeswoman for the borough council said: "We have been trying to locate Anthony Cardoza, who we need to serve legal papers on.
"Despite our efforts and the efforts of our solicitor, we have not been able to locate the whereabouts of Anthony Cardoza."
The council has said it has now been given permission, by a judge, to serve the legal papers at the address of Mr Cardoza's solicitors.
A judge made it clear efforts to locate Mr Cardoza had been made and there was no suggestion he was trying to avoid being served, but there was no known address for him.
The BBC has contacted Mr Cardoza's solicitors for a comment.
Mr Cardoza's son, David, a former director of the club, was arrested in January by police investigating "alleged financial irregularities" in relation to the loan. He was released on bail.
Last week the council announced it had reached an agreement where solicitors would keep half the proceeds of any sale of David Cardoza's £1.2m family home, in case of further legal action.


The man responsible for trying to broker a deal over the renegotiation of the UK's EU membership has said the process is "fragile".

Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said he had cancelled all his engagements to focus on talks with EU leaders and senior MEPs.
The UK hopes to win the backing of other EU countries for its draft reforms at a summit next week.
This could pave the way for an in-out referendum to be held this summer.
In recent weeks, EU officials have made positive noises about the prospect of an agreement at the Brussels meeting on 18 and 19 February.
This is seen as crucial to allow David Cameron to hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU on his preferred date at the end of June.
But Mr Tusk has indicated the size of the task still ahead by clearing his diary to focus solely on high-level talks.
He tweeted: "Talks on UK in EU settlement a fragile political process. I cancelled all my obligations to meet EU leaders & EP to secure broad support."
Mr Cameron has been touring European capitals to try to address reservations about the package of changes he is seeking, which include limits on the payment of in-work benefits to new EU migrants, and new protections for countries outside the eurozone.
Denmark is among the countries to have said they back the proposals in full but Poland has said the welfare changes need further discussion and France is reported to be unhappy about anything that would give non-eurozone countries a veto over issues affecting the entire EU.
Draft conclusions of the summit, released on Tuesday, gave no indication of whether an agreement would be reached but stressed that, if it was, it would be legally-binding and compatible with existing EU treaties.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said he believes the government has the basis of a deal over its proposed emergency brake on in-work benefits.
This would see newly arrived EU migrants receive tax credits at a reduced rate during their first four years in the country as long as the UK could demonstrate its welfare system was under excessive strain.
Mr Hammond told MPs that "those countries who were expected to have been critical were impressed with the way the council has found a solution which addresses the UK's needs without trampling roughshod over their cherished principles.
"I think we've got something here which is workable," he added. "There is some refinement still to do and the discussion is still underway but I think we have got the basis of a workable deal in this section."
Campaigners calling for the UK to leave the EU have dismissed the negotiation process as a "sham" and say it will have little impact on the UK's sovereignty and ability to control its own borders.
Speaking at a rally in London, attended by Conservative, Labour, UKIP and DUP politicians, Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said proponents of EU exit were offering "something better than the EU - an independent, prosperous and global Britain".
He urged 'Out' campaigners to extol the economic benefits of leaving the EU, which he said would lead to lower energy and food prices and a better deal for British farmers free of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Guide: All you need to know about the referendum
EU renegotiation: Did Cameron get what he wanted?
Referendum timeline: What will happen when?
The view from Europe: What's in it for the others?
More: BBC News EU referendum special


A wildlife rescuer is searching for an elusive peahen which has evaded all attempts at capture for almost two weeks.

The bird was first spotted in Earlham Road in Norwich on 17 June and reported to Kevin Murphy, who runs the voluntary Norfolk Wildlife Rescue.
He has tried to coax it from a tree using birdcalls to save it from being attacked, but it ended up on a rooftop.
The peahen escaped again and he is now awaiting more sightings.
More news on the loose in Norfolk
Mr Murphy said he was contacted by a member of the public who saw the bird on Hingham street "with youths attacking it with metal poles".
"By the time I got there the youths and bird had gone," he added.
The bird has been spotted wandering around a water company site and even popped in to an office, but has always disappeared by the time Mr Murphy arrives.
Mr Murphy began chasing the peahen, which is a female peafowl and mates with the more flamboyant peacock, after seeing reports of sightings on social media.
"I don't know for sure where it has escaped from, but I do know that walking around the streets of Norwich isn't the best place for it," he added.
Mr Murphy has been involved in helping to rescue animals, including foxes, badgers, otters, seals and stoats, for about 20 years.


A sink hole has opened up in a Surrey village after heavy rain raising fears that more ground could give way.

The hole at Caterham on the Hill was about 6ft (1.8m) wide and was about 20ft (6m) deep before mud fell in, resident Kimmy Humberstone said.
She said the hole opened up in the green on Tuesday and the ground nearby had also sunk.
Tandridge Council said the hole was fenced off and insists the site is now stable.
Ms Humberstone said it was an area where people walked their dogs and added: "The thought that it could just open up like this, out of nowhere, is quite shocking.
"Obviously we have got the ground around it. It's not just that area, it is undulating, it does appear to be sunken.
"Potentially any part of this area now could be dangerous."
A statement from Tandridge Council said: "As soon as we were told about the sinkhole our building control team visited the site and fenced off the area.
"Further investigations are now taking place to find out the exact cause as there are some drainage pipes underneath. The rest of the site is stable."


Defender Christian Fuchs insists Leicester can cope without suspended top-scorer Jamie Vardy as they attempt to claim a first league title.

Vardy has a one-match suspension after being sent off in the 2-2 draw with West Ham and could get an extended ban following an improper conduct charge.
City are five points clear of second-placed Tottenham with four games left.
"It's a new situation for us because Jamie hasn't missed a game yet but I think we can cope," said Fuchs.
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"We have this confidence, we have the quality. Every time Leonardo Ulloa comes off the bench he has done well and he's a big part of the team. I think we can definitely compete."
Striker Ulloa came on against the Hammers after Vardy, who has scored 22 league goals this season, was shown a second yellow card for diving early in the second half.
The Argentine scored his fourth goal of the season from the penalty spot in the added time to earn City a point.
He is likely to deputise for Vardy in Leicester's next game, at home against Swansea on Sunday, alongside Shinji Okazaki, who has scored six goals so far this campaign.
"Shinji played a big part so far in this season," Fuchs told BBC World Service Sport. "People know about his qualities and that he can also score goals.
"We know, we trust those players and we know that we can be a strong team together."
Tottenham gained ground on City courtesy of an impressive 4-0 win at Stoke on Monday.
"They played a really good game against Stoke but it's not putting any pressure on us," said 30-year-old Austria defender Fuchs. "We don't really feel the pressure.
"Nobody expected us to be five points clear with four games to go. So where is the pressure for us? We have nothing to lose.
"Nobody expected Leicester to be up there. It's very enjoyable for us. We're in a great position. It's our performance that we have to focus on."
Fuchs also praised the work done by manager Claudio Ranieri, who took over from Nigel Pearson in the summer and has led the Foxes to 21 wins from their 34 Premier League matches this season.
"He's making us focus on ourselves and the next game," added Fuchs. "He's telling us every time 'guys, what we can effect is our performance, our game' and he's very right with that.
"Tottenham can win every game now but we also have the chance to do that and that's what we have to focus on."
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