In a case that went back more than three decades, the Supreme Court of India handed down a sentence of one year in prison to Indian Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu. Sidhu, a former cricketer, was given a sentence of life in prison by the Supreme Court on Thursday. His sentence will last for almost 30 years.
A fight broke out between Sidhu, then 27 years old, and Gurnam Singh, then 65 years old, in a parking lot in Patiala, Punjab, on December 27, 1988. According to the prosecutor for the government, Sidhu and another friend of his named Rupinder Singh ran away after getting into a fight with Gurnam near Sheranwala Gate in Patiala during a dispute. After Gurnam fell, they made their escape. In the end, Gurnam did not make it through his treatment at the hospital and passed away there.
After some time had passed, Gurnam's family decided to take legal action against Sidhu and his friend. In 2006, the High Court found Sidhu and his accomplices guilty and handed down sentences that included a fine of Rs 100,000 and a prison term of three years each.
However, Sidhu had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the decision made by the High Court. He had gone all the way up to the highest court in the land and argued that the medical opinion regarding Gurnam's passing was not crystal clear. Sidhu was found guilty of the charge of "involuntary manslaughter" by a bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justices J Chelameshwar and SK Kaul at the time. This charge was brought under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code. Under the provisions of Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, he was found not guilty. Under the provisions of Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, he was found not guilty. In 2006, the Punjab and Haryana High Court found him guilty under the same section as the previous case.
The High Court concluded that Gurnam did not pass away as a result of a "heart attack," but rather from a "subdural hemorrhage." However, the High Court's conclusion that there was evidence of "subdural hemorrhage" was overturned by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the High Court's conclusion was solely based on conjecture. Sidhu was given a monetary penalty of Rs 1000 by the Supreme Court for the same reasons.
The family of the victim had filed an appeal with the Supreme Court claiming that the sentence was lessened. During the argument, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Luthra argued on behalf of the victim, and Senior Advocate AM Singhvi argued on behalf of Sidhu. Despite the fact that the last argument was delivered on March 25, the Supreme Court chose to withhold its decision. Sidhu was found guilty by the Supreme Court and given a sentence of one year in prison in the verdict that was handed down on Thursday. Following the announcement of the verdict, Sidhu stated in a tweet that he would honor the decision of the court.
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