oppn parties Navjot Singh Sidhu Gets One-Year Jail Term In The 1988 Road Rage Case

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  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
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  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
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  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Navjot Singh Sidhu Gets One-Year Jail Term In The 1988 Road Rage Case

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-05-19 10:40:28

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Supreme Court has, after a review in the Navjot Singh Sidhu road rage case, sentenced him to one-year rigorous imprisonment, reversing its earlier verdict in which it had let him off with just a fine of Rs 1000. Sidhu was acquitted of all charges by the sessions court due to lack of evidence which led the court to give Sidhu the benefit of the doubt. But the Punjab & Haryana Court had found him guilty on the charge of culpable homicide and had sentenced him to three years in jail. The Supreme Court had set aside that judgment and let him off with just a fine of Rs 1000. But the kin of Gurnam Singh, who had died after he was hit by Sidhu, appealed for a review which was admitted by the Supreme Court leading to the current verdict.

In the current verdict too, the Supreme Court has rejected the charge of culpable homicide but retained the original charge of "voluntarily causing hurt" and said that it felt that "there is an error apparent on the face of record ... therefore, we have allowed the review application on the issue of sentence. In addition to the fine imposed, we consider it appropriate to impose a sentence of imprisonment for a period of one year." This is a just verdict and the sentencing is valid as the earlier verdict was too lenient.

Sidhu cannot be held liable for culpable homicide as Section 299 of IPC defines it as "whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits the offence of culpable homicide." The operative word here is 'intention' and it will be too far-fetched to assume that any person will hit an unknown person with the intention to kill him just because they are having an altercation over parking space. But he is definitely guilty of "voluntarily causing hurt" under Section 321 of IPC which unfortunately resulted in the death of Gurnam Singh. Hence, he must be punished as per law for that and the fine of Rs 1000 in the earlier verdict was not even a rap on the knuckles.