1988 road rage case: Trouble for Navjot Sidhu as SC to hear review petition on Thursday

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, February 2

The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear a petition seeking review of its 2018 order letting off Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu with a fine of Rs 1,000 in a road rage case in which a man had died in 1988.

The cricketer-turned-politician was acquitted of homicide charges but convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to the deceased.

The Supreme Court had on September 12, 2018 agreed to consider a petition seeking review of its May 15, 2018 order imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu in the case.

A Bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice SK Kaul—which had earlier issued notice to Sidhu “restricted to quantum of sentence”—will reconsider the amount of punishment given to him.

Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu were initially tried for murder, but the trial court in September 1999 acquitted him. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court reversed the verdict and held them guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and gave him a three-year imprisonment.

But the Supreme Court had on May 15, 2018 acquitted him of the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the 1988 road rage case in which one Gurnam Singh had died after allegedly being beaten up Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu.

“The material on record leads us to the only possible conclusion that we can reach that the first accused (Sidhu) voluntarily caused hurt to Gurnam Singh punishable under Section 323 IPC,” the top court had said.

Review petitions are generally heard “in chamber” and not in open courts by a procedure called “hearing by circulation” where advocates representing the parties are not allowed to argue. But in exceptional cases, the court allows open court hearing if convinced about its need.

According to the prosecution, Sidhu and co-convict Rupinder Singh Sandhu were present in a Gypsy parked near Sheranwala Gate crossing in Patiala on December 27, 1988, while Gurnam Singh was on his way to a bank in a Maruti car with two others. As Gurnam asked the Gypsy occupants to give them way, the duo beat him up and fled. Gurnam was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

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