Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu given one-year jail sentence

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been convicted in a 34-year-old road rage case, NDTV reported.

The 58-year-old has been sentenced to a year in jail by the Supreme Court of India. However, he has the option to challenge the decision.

The petition was filed by the family of a man who had passed away after a heated argument with Sidhu and his associate in 1988.

The case was hovering over Sidhu for more than three decades. The victim’s family had asked for severe charges against the cricketer-turned-politician who recently quit his Punjab Congress chief position after his party lost the state elections.

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu quarrelled with Gurnam over a parking spot. Allegedly, Sidhu, along with his associate, dragged Gurnam out of his vehicle and hit him. Later, he passed away.

In 1999, both he and his associate were acquitted by a sessions court in Patiala due to a lack of evidence.

Then in 2006, he was sentenced to three years in jail by Punjab and Haryana High court for culpable murder.

The Supreme Court, in 2018, held Sidhu for hurting a senior citizen and fined him INR 1000. He was not convicted of murder as there was no evidence.

However, Gurnam’s family tried again and requested the SC to review its orders.