Sidhu to be tried for wrongdoings during 2009 elections: SC

New Delhi, October 26    

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held there was no evidence to show that Navjot Singh Sidhu had exceeded the Rs 25 lakh cap on election expenses while contesting the Amritsar Lok Sabha poll in 2009, but directed him to face the charge of taking the help of a state government official for his campaign.

A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and AM Sapre also said Sidhu need not be tried for the third charge over counting of votes in Amritsar where he was declared elected to Parliament as a BJP candidate.

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The losing candidate Om Parkash Soni had challenged Sidhu’s election in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The high court had identified the three charges as triable issues, prompting Sidhu to appeal in the Supreme Court.

The apex court held that Soni had failed to substantiate his charge that Sidhu had exceeded the poll cap, while the allegation pertaining to the returning officer rejecting Soni’s complaint over counting had become irrelevant due to passage of time.

The Bench, however, said Sidhu should face the case for allegedly taking the help of Jagjit Singh Suchu, who was executive engineer of the state electricity board at that time.