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SC lets out Sidhu on bail
S.S. Negi
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, January 12
The Supreme Court today granted bail to former cricketer and BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu but questioned his plea for a stay on the conviction. Sidhu’s counsel, Mr Harish Salve moved court for an interim order to stay the conviction today stating that his client wanted to contest the byelection to the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat vacated by him post the conviction as the filing of nominations would start on January 18. The Bench of Mr Justices G.P. Mathur and Lokeshwar Singh Panta cryptically asked, “Is this a relevant ground that he wants to contest an election?”

The Bench said it would like to have a deeper look at this question and at the same time issued notice to the Punjab Government on Sidhu’s application for a stay of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order convicting him for fatally assaulting 65-year-old Mr Gurnam Singh in Patiala over a car parking dispute. The notice was issued on admission of his appeal. The application will come up for hearing on January 17 and the Punjab Government has been asked to submit its reply by then.

Granting bail to Sidhu and co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu, the Bench directed them to furnish bail bonds of Rs 25,000 and a surety of the like amount each before the Patiala Chief Judicial Magistrate to obtain the formal release orders.