the Supreme Court ruled that Sidhu "intentionally caused hurt"
Navjot Singh Sidhu has been sentenced to one year in prison over a decades-old road rage incident.
In 1988, Sidhu got into an argument with 65-year-old Gurnam Singh over a parking spot in Patiala.
Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu allegedly dragged Mr Singh out of his car and assaulted him. He later died in hospital.
An eyewitness accused Sidhu of causing a fatal blow to Mr Singh’s head.
Sidhu was acquitted in 1999 over a lack of evidence.
But he was convicted of manslaughter in 2006.
This forced him to resign from his parliamentary seat of Amritsar as Indian laws do not allow convicted individuals to be public representatives.
Navjot Singh Sidhu filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and he was subsequently acquitted in 2018. He was ordered to pay a Rs. 1,000 (£10) fine for “hurting the victim”.
The victim’s family appealed against the ruling and on May 19, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that Sidhu “intentionally caused hurt” to Mr Singh.
The Supreme Court said: “In addition to the fine imposed, we consider it appropriate to impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period of one-year rigorous imprisonment.”
Sidhu requested a few more weeks to surrender on health grounds.
At the Supreme Court, his lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi was told by Justice AM Khanwilkar to approach the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.
On May 19, Sidhu tweeted after the order that he would “submit to the majesty of law”.
It was later reported that he would surrender at a court in Punjab’s Patiala.
Opposing Mr Sidhu’s request for time, the counsel representing Punjab said:
“34 years does not mean the crime dies. Now the judgment is pronounced, they want three-four weeks again.”
Mr Singhvi replied: “I am saying I will surrender. It’s your discretion to consider.”
Justice Khanwilkar said: “Place a formal application and we will see. File this and mention it before the Chief Justice’s court, then we will see.”
The jail sentence is a setback for his political career.
Navjot Singh Sidhu recently resigned as the Congress party’s chief in Punjab after his party was wiped out in state assembly elections.
He has limited legal options left as he can appeal against the ruling only once in the form of a curative petition.
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