Punjab, Haryana High Court Suspends Death Sentence Of Godman Rampal After 14 Years

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Punjab and Haryana High Courts, put on hold the life sentences of self-styled godman Sant Rampal, who was convicted in connection with the deaths of his followers during a violent standoff with the police in 2014.

A bench comprising of Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa observed that there are certain debatable issues particularly regarding cause of death being homicidal or not.

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“Even the eye-witness, 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,” reads the court's order passed on Tuesday, September 2, reported Bar and Bench.

What happened in 2014?

The case in question dates back to 2014, when clashes broke out at Sant Rampal's ashram in Hisar, where police had gone to arrest him.

The confrontation left four women and a child dead, sparking widespread outrage at the time.

Following the incident, Rampal was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 by a Special Court.

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The self-styled godman had later challenged the conviction before the High Court alleging that he was falsely implicated in the case. According to Bar and Bench's report, the court was told that Rampal had spent over 10 years and eight months in jail in connection with the case.

What did the court say?

While granting relief to Rampal, the court took into consideration the age of the self-styled godman and directed him not to participate in congregations.

“Having regard to the fact that the applicant/appellant as on date is aged about 74 years and has undergone substantial period of sentence i.e. 10 years, 08 months & 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 Court said in its statement, reported Bar and Bench.

More about Sant Rampal

Before proclaiming himself as a godman, Rampal Dass served as a junior engineer (JE) in Haryana's irrigation department.

In 1995, he set up Satlok Ashram of the Kabir Panthi sect. Within a short span, the godman's followers doubled- and he went on to spread his 'spiritual empire' in Jhajjar and Rohtak.

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