The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday convicted cricketer-turned-MP Navjot Singh Sidhu for causing the death of a Patiala resident following a scuffle in 1988.
A division bench, comprising Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and Baldev Singh, overturned his earlier acquittal by a lower court and found 43-year-old Sidhu guilty of culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, for the death of Gurnam Singh.
Gurnam Singh died on December 27, 1988 after Sidhu and his associate had allegedly beaten him at a Patiala market following a dispute. Gurman Singh had actually died of a heart attack on the spot after the incident.
The court will decide on the quantum of punishment for Sidhu on Wednesday, December 6. Under Section 304 of IPC, the maximum sentence could be imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Sidhu has been convicted under Section 304 of IPC. The court pronounced the verdict while hearing an appeal of the Punjab government against an earlier verdict of the Patiala district court, acquitting Sidhu in the murder case. A separate appeal was also filed by the son of the victim.
The district and sessions judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu in the case, which was registered under Sections 304 and 34 of IPC at police station, Kotwali, Patiala on December 27, 1988 for causing the death of Gurnam Singh.
The FIR registered by the Punjab Government on December 27, 1988 alleged that Navjot Sidhu and Rupinder Singh Sandhu had showered blows on Gurnam in Sheranwala Gate Bazaar of Patiala after dragging him out of his car and injuring him.
The sessions court had dismissed the case in 2000 on the grounds that there was a delay in lodging the case.
Sidhu and his associate had allegedly beaten up Gurnam over a dispute over the parking of vehicles outside the State Bank of Patiala branch, where Sidhu was employed. Sidhu has always maintained that the incident was merely an accident and that he had no intention of causing harm to the person.
The news will no doubt put his highly successful post-cricket career as an expert and entertainer in jeopardy. Contrary to the fame he has achieved as a member of the Indian cricket team since the 1980s, his almost four-year-old career as a commentator and of late for his opnions, more famously known as 'Sidhuisms', have propelled him to become a household name.
The appeals against Sidhu's acquittal were filed in 2002 and on November 29, 2002, the court admitted the same for further hearing.
No comments:
Post a Comment