10 years on, HC suspends 'godman' Rampal’s sentence

Nearly seven years after he was sentenced to life in a case involving the death of his five disciples, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has suspended the sentence of Satlok Ashram’s septuagenarian preacher Rampal after taking into consideration his age and custody period.

“Having regard to the fact that the applicant/appellant as on date is aged about 74 years and has undergone substantial period of sentence — 10 years, eight months and 21 days, we find it to be a fit case for suspending the sentence of the applicant/appellant during pendency of the main appeal,” the Bench of Justices Gurvinder Singh Gill and Deepinder Singh Nalwa asserted.

Allowing his plea, the Bench directed him not to promote “any kind of `mob mentality’ and to avoid participating in congregations where there is any kind of tendency amongst “disciples” or participants to cause breach in peace, law and order”.

The Bench warned that it would be open to the state to take steps for bail cancellation “in case of violation of condition of bail or in case applicant is found to be indulging in activities having trappings of inciting others to commit any offence”.

Rampal had moved the court seeking suspension of the sentence imposed on him on October 17, 2018, pursuant to judgment of conviction dated October 11, 2018, by the Special Court of the Hisar Additional Sessions Judge. He was convicted of murder and other offences punishable under the IPC in connection with the death of five disciples.

The Bench was told by the state counsel that the appellant was virtually trying to keep the women and others as hostage and confined them in a room “wherein condition of

suffocation developed, which ultimately led to their deaths”.

His counsel, on the other hand, submitted that the appellant was implicated in the case. “As a matter of fact it is a case of natural death, as is borne out from the medical evidence in respect of all the five deceased,” the counsel contended, adding that the persons died on account of ‘asphyxia’ as per the doctors’ report. The eyewitnesses had also resiled from their statements.

“While we find there are specific allegations against the applicant/appellant to the effect that he had kept the women and others captive, but there are certainly some debatable issues, particularly regarding cause of death being homicidal or not. Even the eyewitness, who are relatives of the deceased, have not supported the case of the prosecution and have rather stated that conditions of suffocation were created due to tear gas shells,” the Bench observed.

Rampal’s stronghold was pulled down by the police in 2014 in an attempt to flush him out of his ashram.