NEW DELHI, 24 January 2007 — The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the conviction of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in a case of manslaughter.
The court made the decision in response to a petition filed by Sidhu challenging a three-year jail term handed to him by the Punjab and Haryana High Court over a road rage killing 18 years ago.
“The order of conviction is suspended,” the Supreme Court said.
The latest court order meant Sidhu can now run for an upcoming by-election which was necessitated when he resigned his seat in Parliament after conviction.
In December, the Punjab court sentenced Sidhu on charges of manslaughter for an incident in which 65-year-old Gurnam Singh died during a scuffle triggered by an argument over a parking space in Patiala in 1988.
The court concluded that Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu had punched Gurnam Singh after dragging him out of his car. Gurnam Singh, who suffered heart problems, collapsed and died.
The Press Trust of India said Sidhu plans to re-enter Parliament by contesting the by-election from the northern Indian city of Amritsar scheduled to be held next month.
Gurnam Singh’s nephew Jaswinder Singh expressed disappointment over the verdict. “The family is feeling bad. If this is how things are, then every MP and MLA who has a criminal record can participate in elections,” he said.
The Supreme Court gave three reasons for stay of Sidhu’s conviction. First, the court said, the police report id not mention that it was a blow from Sidhu that killed Gurnam Singh. It also said it was not clear Singh died of cardiac arrest or otherwise. And finally, since Sidhu had resigned his MP’s seat on moral grounds, it would be unfair to prevent him from standing for elections again.
