According to a tweet from his official account, prominent Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who the Supreme Court sentenced to one year in prison in connection with a road-rage episode that resulted in a man's death 34 years ago, will be released from Patiala Jail tomorrow. According to news agency PTI, his attorney HPS Varma also verified the development. "I'm writing to let you know that tomorrow Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu will be released from Patiala Jail (As informed by the relevant authorities)."
This is to inform everyone that Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu will be released from Patiala Jail tomorrow.
(As informed by the concerned authorities).
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) March 31, 2023
According to Mr. Varma, a convict who exhibits good behaviour is entitled to general remission under the regulations of the Punjab Prison. He most likely will be let out of the Patiala prison on Saturday, according to PTI. The 59-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was given a year of "rigorous imprisonment" last May by the Supreme Court after resigning as the leader of the Punjab Congress following the defeat of his party in the state poll. The court's decision was based on a petition filed by the family of a man who passed away in 1988 following a fight with Sidhu and a companion of his. The family had requested a harsher punishment and a review of the Supreme Court's 2018 decision clearing him of murder.
On December 27, 1988, Sidhu got into a fight with Patiala citizen Gurnam Singh, 65, over a parking space. Gurnam Singh was reportedly dragged out of his car by Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu, who then struck him. Later, he passed away in a hospital. A witness claimed that Mr. Sidhu had struck Gurnam Singh in the head and killed him. In 2018, the Supreme Court imposed a 1,000 rupee punishment on Sidhu for intentionally inflicting harm on a person.
However, after reviewing its own ruling, the court stated that it believed Sidhu should serve a prison sentence because a death must be connected to "some aggravated culpability."
