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Navjot Sidhu gets one-year jail in 1988 road rage case
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 5/20/2022 3:19:32 PM
New Delhi, May 19 The Supreme Court on May 19 imposed a one-year sentence on cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in a 1988 road rage case. A bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and S.K. Kaul allowed the review plea filed by the victim’s family on the issue of the sentence awarded to Sidhu. 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 Rs. 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. In September 2018, the apex court had agreed to examine a review petition filed by the family members of the deceased and had issued the notice, restricted to the quantum of sentence. The top court had earlier asked Sidhu to file his response on the application which had said that his conviction in the case should not have been merely for the lesser offence of voluntarily causing hurt. 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”. When they reached the crossing, it was alleged, that Gurnam Singh, driving a Maruti car, found the Gypsy in the middle of the road and asked the occupants, Sidhu and Sandhu, to remove it. This led to heated exchanges. Sidhu was acquitted of murder charges by the trial court in September 1999. However, the high court reversed the verdict and held Sidhu and Sandhu guilty under section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC in December 2006. It had sentenced them to three years in jail and imposed a fine of ı1 lakh each on them.