At a glance: Babas who challenged law of the land

Sant Rampal's case has got many twists and turns but this is not for the first time that the law of the land has been challenged by a baba who has got a large pool of supporters. The contexts of their respective confrontation with the governments were different but it did cause anxiety in the society. It's not that all the babas in India are having their personal agendas like Sant Rampal. Some of them are also doing commendable work in socio-economic upliftment of the underprivileged section of the society.Here we are presenting a list of babas who confronted the government under different circumstances and in different context:1. Asaram (2013): Asaram, a controversial godman, is accused of raping two girls who resided in his own Ashram.Born 17 April 1941, Asaram is a controversial godman. He is married to Lakshmi Devi with whom he has a son, Narayan "Prem" Sai Harpalani and Bharti Devi, a daughter. In 2000, the Asaram Ashram was allocated about 10 acres (4 ha) of land in Bhairavi village of Navsari district by the Gujarat government. The ashram encroached on an additional 6 acres (6 ha), leading to protests in the local villages.On a complaint filed by locals, and after repeated notices were ignored, the district authorities with police assistance bulldozed the encroachments and took possession of the land. Asaram was widely criticised after his remark that the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim was equally guilty along with those responsible for the sexual assault on her. In August 2013, Asaram was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram in Jodhpur on the pretext of exorcising her from evil spirits. Asaram remained inside his other ashram in Indore and avoided arrest while his devotees clashed with journalists and policemen outside.When the police tried to arrest him, he went into hiding from Rajasthan to Gujarat, creating utter chaos. His son too attacked anyone who dared to defy his father and come near him. Eventually the police overpowered him and had him arrested. 2. Chandraswami (1996): Chandraswami, whose actual name is Nemi Chand is a controversial Indian tantrik. Everyone agrees that he carries a lot of clout. During elections too, he has a lot of influence. He is a spiritual guru to many politicians and leaders.But he was once caught in financial irregularities. Because of political influence he managed to legal action against him for many days. But the Supreme Court intervened and in 1996 he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000. He has faced charges for repeated violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.In June 2011, the Supreme Court fined Chandraswami, for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, a sum of Rs 9 crores. 3. Rampal (2014): Rampal is a controversial self styled godman, who has been accused of murder. After a 10 day seize, the police has finally arrested him.Trouble mounted for Baba Rampal when he was forced to vacate his Karontha ashram in Haryana's. Rohtak district following clashes with religious groups in July, 2006. In this clash, one person had died from bullet wounds. Murder charges were pressed against Rampal.Rampal's supporters and followers had indulged in vandalism when he was going to a court in Hisar town July this year. The Punjab and Haryana high court took suo motu cognizance of the incident and summoned Rampal.However, the god-man repeatedly failed to appear before the high court, forcing the court to issue a non-bailable warrant against him on Nov 5. He was supposed to appear before the court November 10 and later on November 17 but he did not turn up, citing medical reasons.