Navjot Singh Sidhu sentenced to 1 year imprisonment in 3-decade-old road rage case

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu allegedly beat Gurnam Singh on his head, leading to his death.

It is said that even if there is a delay in getting justice at the door of the law, it is not denied. Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was convicted in the 34-year-old case on Thursday (May 19, 2022). He was sentenced to one year in prison. The ruling was made by the Supreme Court today.  In the 1988 road accident case, Sidhu was initially released with a small fine, but the hearing of the case was once again started on the basis of a complaint by the family of the deceased. Sidhu was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the apex court in the case. 

Navjot Singh Sidhu was accused of murdering a man in 1988. It was alleged that On December 27, 1988, Sidhu had parked a gypsy car in the middle of a road near Sheranwala gate crossing in Patiala. At that time, two persons including the deceased were going to a bank in front to withdraw money. The man, Gurnam Singh, asked Sidhu to remove the car. But as Sidhu and Rupinder Singh Sandhu, who was present with him, refused to move, the conversation between them turned into a fight. 

It was alleged that Navjot Singh Sidhu had hit Gurnam Singh on the head during the brawl. The man later died. It was then that a murder charge was filed against Sidhu. In 1999, the Patiala trial court acquitted him of the murder charges for lack of proper evidence. He was later charged with intentionally causing hurt instead of a murder case. But in 2006, when the accused's family approached the High Court, Sidhu was convicted. They were sentenced to three years in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh at that time. 

Navjot Singh Sidhu challenged the decision and appealed to the Supreme Court. After 34 long years of trial, Navjot Singh Sidhu was finally convicted by the Supreme Court today. He has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year.  Sidhu has also been directed to surrender before the court.

Soon after the sentence by Supreme Court on Thursday, Navjot Singh Sidhu took to Twitter and said, “Will submit to the majesty of law ….".

Sidhu will be taken into custody by the Punjab police as per the order. Sidhu was earlier let off with a fine of Rs 1000. Now, the maximum possible punishment under Section 323 of IPC has been awarded to Sidhu.