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JUSTICE DELAYED IS………
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 5/20/2022 3:12:50 PM
After nearly 34 years court has come with a verdict in Navjot Sidhus case. But some common people as well as law knowing people have termed it as justice delayed is justice denied. In a country like India judiciary is fear and people have high hopes. However, the Supreme Court on May 19 imposed a one-year sentence on cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in a 1988 road rage case. Though the apex court had in May 2018 held Sidhu guilty of the offence of “voluntarily causing hurt” to a 65-year-old man in the case, it spared him a jail term and imposed a fine of 1,000. “…we feel there is an error apparent on the face of record… therefore; we have allowed the review application on the issue of sentence. In addition to the fine imposed, we consider it appropriate to impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period of one year…” the bench said while pronouncing the verdict. Sidhu had on March 25 told the top court that the plea seeking enlargement of the scope of notice in the matter relating to review of the sentence awarded to him was an “abuse of process”. It had said the apex court had perused the entire evidence on record, including the medical evidence, to conclude that cause of death of Gurnam Singh could not be ascertained. Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code entails a maximum jail term of up to one year or with a fine which may extend to 1,000 or both. The apex court had on May 15, 2018, set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court order convicting Sidhu of culpable homicide and awarding him a three-year jail term in the case, but had held him guilty of causing hurt to a senior citizen. The top court had also acquitted Sidhu’s aide Rupinder Singh Sandhu of all charges saying there was no trustworthy evidence regarding his presence along with Sidhu at the time of the offence in December 1988.