SC reserves verdict on Navjot Singh Sidhu's plea in 1988 road rage case

The Supreme Court today reserved its judgment on the appeal filed by cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict convicting and sentencing him to three years in jail in a 1988 road rage case.

A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul reserved the verdict after hearing the arguments.

Senior advocate R S Cheema, appearing for Sidhu, said that the evidence brought on record regarding the cause of death of the victim were "indefinite and contradictory".

He also said that the medical opinion regarding the cause of death of the deceased, Gurnam Singh, was "vague".

The bench also reserved its verdict on the appeal filed by Rupinder Singh Sandhu, who along with Sidhu was sentenced to three years in jail by the high court in the case.

Sidhu, who had quit the BJP and joined the Congress days before the Punjab Assembly election last year, had earlier told the bench that the findings of the high court were based on "opinion" and not on medical evidence.

However, the Amarinder Singh government had on April 12 favoured in the top court the high court verdict convicting and awarding the three-year jail term to Sidhu, who is now Punjab's tourism minister.

The former cricketer had argued that there was "ambiguity" regarding the actual cause of death of Patiala resident Singh.

The counsel for the state had earlier told the apex court: "The trial court verdict was rightly set aside by the High Court. Accused A1 (Navjot Singh Sidhu) had given fist blow to deceased Gurnam Singh leading to his death through brain hemorrhage."