New Delhi: In a major setback, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a road rage case that is three-decade-old. Earlier, in 2018 the court had reduced Sidhu's punishment from 3 years of Jail to a penalty of Rs 1000. This comes after the top court reviewed the plea filed by the family of the deceased who was killed during an alleged brawl with cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had opposed the plea seeking to enlarge the scope of the road rage case against him citing earlier order of the apex court which held that there was no evidence that the death of the victim was caused by a single blow in the road rage case, according to a PTI report.
A bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul pronounced the order.
Reacting to the order of the apex court, Congress leader Sidhu said, "Will submit to the majesty of law..."
The Road Rage Case
The incident occurred three-decades ago at a traffic intersection in Patiala, when Navjot Singh Sidhu allegedly beat Gurnam Singh on his head, leading to his death, according to a PTI report.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was found guilty of "voluntarily causing hurt" under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code by a division bench consisting of Justice J Chelameshwar (now retired) and Justice SK Kaul in May 2018.
Sidhu had earlier told the bench that the findings of the high court were based on "opinion" and not on medical evidence.
The Congress leader was acquitted in connection with the culpable homicide charges but was convicted of the offence of voluntarily causing hurt. The court had slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu and had also acquitted Sidhu's associate, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, in the case.
The case has gone through Session Court, High court, and Supreme Court
The Sessions Court Judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu and his associate, due to a lack of evidence in the case and giving the benefit of the doubt.
It was then challenged by the victim's families before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had in 2006, convicted and sentenced Sidhu to three years imprisonment. Sidhu then filed an appeal before the apex court challenging this order.