The Punjab and Haryana High Court has suspended the life sentence of self-styled godman Rampal, seven years after he was awarded it in a case involving the death of five disciples.
In 2018, the head of Satlok Ashram and some followers were held guilty in two separate cases related to murder, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy registered against them at Barwala police station in Hisar district on November 19, 2014.
That day, the police and Rampal's followers had a standoff, in which five people, including four women, were killed.
A division bench comprising Justices Gurvinder Singh Gill and Deepinder Singh Nalwa passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Rampal, seeking suspension of the life term awarded to him by a Hisar court in October 2018 under Sections 343 (wrongful confinement), 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
"While we find there are specific allegations against the appellant to the effect that he had kept the women and others captive, there are certainly some debatable issues particularly regarding the cause of death being homicidal or not...
