E-Paper
Haryana: HC suspends life sentence awarded to self-styled godman Rampal
The Satlok Ashram head, Rampal, who has been behind the bars since November 2014, following his arrest upon high court orders in a criminal contempt case, faced five criminal cases after the 2014 controversy.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has suspended the life sentence awarded to self-styled godman Rampal, the second such order within a week, in a 2014 criminal case of alleged five deaths reported at his ashram.
The Satlok Ashram head, Rampal, who has been behind the bars since November 2014, following his arrest upon high court orders in a criminal contempt case, faced five criminal cases after the 2014 controversy.
Large-scale violence was witnessed during the November 2014 operation launched by multiple agencies to nab him as he refused to appear before the high court in a contempt case. In the entire operation, six lives were lost, and 110 police personnel and 70 civilians sustained injuries.
His counsel, senior advocate Vinod Ghai said that a total of five criminal cases were registered after the 2014 controversy.
He has been acquitted in two FIRs and now secured suspension of sentence in two more FIRs on August 28 (regarding one death) and September 2 (regarding five deaths).
In the last case, the trial is still underway at a Hisar court. But he has yet to secure a bail in that case. Hence, he won’t come out of jail despite relief in two cases from the high court in the past one week.
While suspending his sentence, the bench of justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa said that he was 74 years old, and had undergone 10 years and eight months behind the bars.
“..we find it to be a fit case for suspending the sentence of the applicant/appellant during the pendency of the main appeal. The instant application, as such, is allowed and it is ordered that the remaining sentence of imprisonment of the applicant/appellant shall remain suspended during pendency of the appeal..,” the bench said, adding that in case of violation of condition of bail or in case applicant was found to be indulging in activities of inciting others to commit any offence, the state could file for cancellation of the bail.
“The applicant is, however, directed not to promote any kind of ‘mob mentality’ and to avoid participating in congregations where there is any kind of tendency among ‘disciples’ or participants to cause breach in peace, law and order,” the court ordered.
The court further added that while there were specific allegations against him to the effect that he had kept the women and others captive, there were certainly some “debatable issues” particularly regarding cause of death being homicidal or not.
Even the eyewitness, who were relatives of the deceased, had not supported the case of the prosecution and had rather stated that conditions of suffocation were created due to tear gas shells, the court further added.
The case in which his life sentence was suspended on September 2 involved deaths offour women and a child, and allegations were that he was trying to keep the women and others as hostage and confined them in a room, wherein conditions of suffocation developed, which ultimately led to their deaths.
He was awarded life sentence in this case by a Hisar court in October 2018, following which he had filed an appeal in the high court in January 2019.
The FIR, in which life sentence was suspendedon August 28, by the same bench involved death of a woman during the same operation and allegations were that the deceased woman as well as number of other women had been held captive in the “ashram”, where they were not even given food and sufficient accommodation and it was on account of suffocation that the deceased lost her life.
He was awarded life term in this case also in October 2018 by a Hisar court. This appeal is also pending since January 2019.
