Chandigarh, Sept. 5 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has suspended the life sentence awarded to self-styled godman Rampal, the second such order within a week, in a 2014 criminal case of alleged five deaths reported at his ashram.

The Satlok Ashram head, Rampal, who has been behind the bars since November 2014, following his arrest upon high court orders in a criminal contempt case, faced five criminal cases after the 2014 controversy.

Large-scale violence was witnessed during the November 2014 operation launched by multiple agencies to nab him as he refused to appear before the high court in a contempt case. In the entire operation, six lives were lost, and 110 police personnel and 70 civilians sustained injuries.

His counsel, sen...