P&H High Court Suspends Life Sentence of Self-Styled Godman Rampal in Satlok Ashram Murder Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has suspended the life sentence of self-styled godman Rampal in the Satlok Ashram deaths case, where he was convicted in 2018 for the murder of five women during a 2014 police siege in Hisar.

A division bench of Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa was hearing Rampal’s plea for suspension of the sentence awarded to him by the Additional Sessions Judge, Special Court, Hisar. He was convicted under Sections 343 (wrongful confinement), 302 (murder), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Court noted his advanced age, long incarceration, and the fact that the co-accused had already been granted bail, while also acknowledging unresolved questions surrounding the cause of death of the victims.

The prosecution had alleged that Rampal was virtually trying to keep the women and others as hostages and confined them in a room, wherein conditions of suffocation developed, which ultimately led to their deaths. The State also submitted a custody certificate, confirming that Rampal had undergone 10 years, 8 months, and 21 days of imprisonment.

Appearing for Rampal, senior advocate Vinod Ghai argued that the 74-year-old had been “falsely implicated” and that the case did not establish homicidal deaths. He pointed out that medical reports indicated varying causes, such as traumatic asphyxia, pneumonia, and head injuries and none of which proved murder by Rampal or his followers.

Ghai emphasized that the prosecution’s own eyewitnesses, the relatives of the deceased, had not supported the case. Instead, they testified that the women had either been suffering from illnesses prior to the incident or had died from suffocation caused by tear gas shells lobbed by police during the siege.

The senior counsel further stressed Rampal’s age and health, noting that he had already served more than ten and a half years of actual imprisonment. In contrast, all 13 co-accused in the case were released on bail earlier, and he said, therefore, Rampal’s continued incarceration was unjustified. On grounds of parity, Ghai urged that the godman should receive the same relief.

After hearing both sides, the bench observed that while there were specific allegations of wrongful confinement, the cause of death remained debatable.

“Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, while we find there are specific allegations against the applicant/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,” the Court added.

The judges noted that close relatives of the deceased did not support the prosecution and had attributed the deaths to suffocation caused by the police action rather than Rampal’s conduct.

“Having regard to the fact that the applicant/appellant as on date is aged about 74 years and has undergone a substantial period of sentence i.e. 10 years, 08 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 Court said.

The bench, however, cautioned Rampal not to engage in activities that could incite mobs or disturb law and order, adding that any violation of bail conditions could lead to cancellation of his relief.

“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 amongst ‘disciples’ or participants to cause breach of peace, law, and order.”

Rampal was arrested on November 19, 2014, after a nearly two-week-long siege at his Satlok Ashram in Barwala, Hisar, Haryana, where thousands of his followers had gathered to resist police action.

Two separate murder cases were registered: one for the deaths of five women in 2014 and another for the death of a disciple, Raj Bala, in 2006. He was charged under Sections 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. In October 2018, a Hisar trial court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Case Title: Rampal vs. State of Haryana

Order Date: 02 September 2025

Bench: Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa