Navjot Singh Sidhu, former cricketer and Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament from Amritsar, was awarded a 3-year sentence and also asked to pay Rs 1 lakh as fine by the division bench of Punjab and Haryana high court in the Gurnam Singh case.
The court found him guilty of homicide not amounting to murder for December 27, 1988 case in which Gurnam Singh was fatally pushed by the accused who died on the spot. The two were involved in a verbal dual over parking space in Patiala.
Sidhu's face fell when Justice M S Gill and Justice Baldev Singh, of Punjab and Haryana high court pronounced that he would have to spend 3 years behind bars and pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh in as fine in a crowded court. But his face lit up when the court accepted the defence plea to suspend the sentence till January 31, allowing him time to move the apex court for appeal.
R S Ghai, advocate for complainant Jasvinder Singh, said that they were not happy with the judgement and they would naturally appeal against the high court order in the Supreme Court.
Sidhu's supporters marched out of the court showing victory signs. His friends and supporters jostled with each other to be seen on TV camera. Chants of Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal rented the court premises.
Slogans against the Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh were also raised as his supporters held him guilty of digging out an old case just for the sake of Punjab elections.
Sidhu's so-called victory process was in drastic contrast to the muted manner in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren was bundled into a jail van and shunted off to Tihar jail in Delhi. Soren and four others were given life imprisonment in the Shashikant Jha murder case.
Aruging on behalf of Sidhu, U U Lalit asked for suspension of sentence to allow his client to move the Supreme court, but this was opposed by the prosecution on the ground that the court has no such power.
"Under 134 (a) the court can give him a certificate to file an appeal but then he would have to surrender before the Supreme Court before his special leave petition is taken up for hearing," Vinod Ghai, junior of R S Ghai told rediff.com.
The court concluded hearing the arguments on quantum of sentence to be given to Sidhu for over two hours and then announced that the order would be passed around 3 in the afternoon. In the meantime police party from Patiala had arrived to take Sidhu under custody just in case it was so required.
Arun Jaitely, BJP general secretary and noted Supreme Court advocate arrived in Chandigarh on Tuesda night with the cricketer by Shatabdi Express setting off speculations that he would argue the case.
But Jaitly preferred to sit in the second row and watch the proceedings and telling Lalit points that needed to be raised during the arguments.