1988 road rage case: Convicted parliamentary leader and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu could face up to eight months in prison if he behaves well, and will receive special exemptions from prison authorities and the Punjab government.
1988 road rage case: A day after the Supreme Court sentenced him to a year in prison in his 1988 car accident death, parliamentary representative Navjot Singh Sidhu surrendered in a court in Patiala.
“He surrendered to Chief Justice Amit Malhan,” said Verma, a senior HPS attorney who accompanied Sidhu to court.
The former president of the Punjab Parliament surrendered shortly after 4 pm and was taken to Mata Kaushalya Hospital for a mandatory medical examination. After a medical examination, he was imprisoned at Patiala Central Jail.
Some party leaders, including supporters of Navtej Singh Cheema, Ashwani Sekhri and Sidhu, accompanied him from home to the courthouse not far from his home. Cheema took Sidhu, dressed in a blue Pathani suit, to court in an SUV.
This was only hours after the former Punjab Speaker of Parliament appealed to the Supreme Court to abadon the execution of several weeks in prison.
Supreme Court Judges A.M Khanwilkar and J.B. Pardiwala told Sidhu’s chief attorney, A.M. Singhvi, that a one-year strict detention decision had been passed by a special court and he could apply and submit it to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Singhvi said he would raise the issue in front of the presiding judge.
Back in Patiala, some former MLA and supporters showed up at Sidhu’s home in the morning to show their support, but the prominent parliamentary leader of the government department was nowhere to be seen from his home or courtroom.
However, Punjab Council Chairman Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and senior leader Partap Singh Bajwa have expressed their support for Sidhu on social media, tweeting that they both respect the Supreme Court ruling but support Sidhu and his family.
On May 19, the Supreme Court sentenced Sidhu to a heavy sentence of one year in the case, saying that undue sympathy in delivering an inappropriate sentence would further damage the judicial system and undermine public confidence in the law’s effectiveness.
The incident killed Gurnam Singh, a 65-year-old man.
When reporters asked about Sidhu’s reaction to the May 19 ruling, he declined to comment. However, he later tweeted that “I will obey the majesty of the law.”
In May 2018, the Supreme Court found Sidhu guilty of “willfully harming” the man, but waived his prison sentence and fined him Rs.1,000.
Gurnam Singh’s family requested a review of the sentence sentenced by the Supreme Court.
“We feel there is an error apparent on the face of record… Therefore, we have allowed the review application on the issue of the sentence. In addition to the fine imposed, we consider it appropriate to impose a sentence of imprisonment for one year,” the bench said while declaring the verdict.
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