Stubborn defiance of judicial system proved to be preacher Rampal’s undoing

CHANDIGARH: It was his stubbornness and defiance which led to controversial godman Rampal not only losing his flourishing empire, spread in several states, but also end up spending the rest of his life in jail.
According to legal experts, had Rampal appeared before the Punjab and Haryana high court in November 2014, in relation to a contempt of court case and tendered apology, he could have been discharged with a warning or symbolic punishment.
On Tuesday, he was imprisoned for life by a Hisar court in a murder case. Rampal, who owned properties worth crores in several states, had voluntarily invited troubles for himself because he could have easily avoided the confrontation with the judiciary by appearing before the high court and seeking an apology for the behaviour of his followers in July 2014 at the Hisar district court complex.
The series of events started on July 15, 2014, when Rampal’s followers marched inside the Hisar courts complex and tried to create trouble during the hearing of a murder case in which Rampal was an accused. Trial of the case was going on at Rohtak district court but Rampal had to appear via video conferencing from Hisar court.
Hisar District Bar Association approached the HC for initiating contempt of court proceeding against Rampal for influencing the judicial proceedings. Taking cognizance of bar’s plea, the HC told Rampal to appear before the court.
When he failed to appear before the HC despite several opportunities and stubbornly challenged the authority of court, non-bailable warrants were issued against him. To ensure his presence before the court, the security forces had to lay seize to his ashram and use force against the adamant preacher. He was not only arrested but several serious charges were also slapped against him for murder, waging war against the state, violence, and related activities.
As per the information with TOI, a senior advocate, who was appearing before the Punjab and Haryana high court on behalf of Rampal in contempt case, had also advised him to appear but Rampal remained adamant for non-appearance. Later, the senior advocate even withdrew as his counsel and Rampal had to engage a new lawyer.
Controversial preacher
A retired junior engineer from the Haryana government, Rampal, a preacher of Kabir sect, had first founded Satlok ashram at Karontha near Rohtak. However, when he started preaching against Arya Samajis, he faced protest in Rohtak district. Following some violence between Rampal’s disciples with the followers of Arya Samaj in 2006 and 2013, he had to shift his base to Barwala in Hisar district.