Navjot Sidhu faces trial for taking help of official in poll

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, October 26

The Supreme Court today 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 government official for his campaign.

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A Bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and AM Sapre also ruled that Sidhu need not face the third charge over counting of votes in Amritsar from where he was declared elected to Parliament as BJP candidate. The losing candidate, Om Parkash Soni (Cong), had challenged Sidhu’s election in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that had identified the three charges as triable issues, prompting Sidhu to approach the Supreme Court.

The apex court held 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 with passage of time.

The Bench, however, said Sidhu should face the case for allegedly taking the help of Jagjit Singh Suchu, then XEN, Punjab State Electricity Board.