1988 road rage case: Navjot Singh Sidhu, given 1-year rigorous imprisonment, surrenders

New Delhi: Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment in a 1988 road rage case, surrendered himself before Chief Judicial Magistrate in Punjab’s Patiala court on Friday (May 20). According to ANI, his media advisor Surinder Dalla said, “He (Navjot Singh Sidhu) has surrendered himself before Chief Judicial Magistrate. He is under judicial custody. Medical examination and other legal procedures will be adopted.” After surrendering, the former Punjab Congress chief reached Mata Kaushalya Hospital in Patiala for medical examination.

A few hours back, Sidhu had approached the Supreme Court seeking a few weeks' time to surrender saying he wanted to "organise his medical affairs". Senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing Sidhu, told the bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar, "He will, of course, surrender shortly." "We want a few weeks to surrender. It is after 34 years. He wants to organise his medical affairs," the advocate added.

Punjab | Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu reaches Mata Kaushalya Hospital in Patiala for medical examination. pic.twitter.com/2qgjGVsbGe — ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2022

The Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced the cricketer-turned-politician to one-year rigorous imprisonment in the three-decades-old road rage case. However, in May 2018, the apex court, while holding him guilty of the offence of "voluntarily causing hurt" to a 65-year-old man, had spared Sidhu a jail sentence and only imposed a fine of Rs 1,000. In 2018, the apex court had also set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court 2006 verdict convicting the Punjab Congress leader of culpable homicide and struck down a three-year jail term in the case. 

What’s 1988 road rage case against Sidhu?

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu and his aide Rupinder Singh Sandhu allegedly thrashed 65-year-old Gurnam Singh in Patiala. As per the prosecution, the duo was present in a Gypsy parked in the middle of a road near the Sheranwala Gate Crossing in Patiala when the victim and two others were on their way to the bank to withdraw money. When Gurnam Singh, who was driving a Maruti car, asked Sidhu and Sandhu to remove the Gypsy from the middle of the road, it triggered a fight. Following the scuffle, the 65-year-old was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.

(With agency inputs)