Navjot Sidhu may face jail in 1998 Patiala road rage case

Former Indian cricketer and current Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu may face imprisonment after the family of the victim, who was killed in a roadside fight filed a petition in the Supreme Court to reopen the case.

Sidhu was sentenced in the 20-year-old case with a nominal fine of Rs 1000 four months ago after the court failed to sustain any evidence that could prove that the Punjab Minister’s rash driving led to the death of the victim.

But after the family members filed a petition on the case, the apex court of justice has sent the cricketer turned politician a notice, asking him to show cause on why he should not be given any harsher punishment, reported NDTV on Wednesday.

“The issue notice is restricted to the quantum of sentence qua respondent no. 1 – Navjot Singh Sidhu,” the two-judge bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul was quoted as saying by the news website.

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Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu had reportedly entered into an argument over car parking with the victim Gurnam Singh. The two have been accused of dragging Gurnam out of his car and beat him up, which ultimately led to his death. The incident had occurred in Patiala on DecemSingh Sidhu may face jail ber 27, 1998.

A case was registered against the duo but they were discharged by a trial court in Patiala. But after the family has knocked on the Punjab High Court in 2006, it charged Sidhu of homicide and sentenced him to three years of imprisonment.

But the former opener and his friend approached the Supreme Court, which suspended the sentence and discharged the case against Sidhu in 2007.

Earlier, this year in May, Sidhu and his friend were let off with a fine of Rs 1000 by the two-judge bench of justices Chalemeswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul and the case was closed citing “there was no evidence to prove that the death was caused by the single blow” from Mr Sidhu.

Image Source: Zee News