1988 road rage case: Navjot Singh Sidhu seeks time from Supreme Court to surrender, cites health reason

New Delhi: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been given one-year jail term in a 1988 road rage case, approached the Supreme Court on Friday (May 20), seeking a few weeks' time to surrender. The apex court had on Thursday imposed a sentence of one-year rigorous imprisonment on Sidhu in the case, saying any "undue sympathy" to impose an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Sidhu, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar and said the former cricketer needed a few weeks to surrender.

"He will of course surrender shortly," Singhvi told the bench, adding, "We want a few weeks to surrender. It is after 34 years. He wants to organise his medical affairs." The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala, told Singhvi that the judgement in the matter was passed by a special bench. "You can file that application and mention it before the Chief Justice. If the Chief Justice constitutes that bench today, we will consider that. If that bench is not available, it will have to be constituted. A special bench was constituted for that matter," the bench observed. Singhvi said he will try to mention the matter before the Chief Justice. 

The 1988 road rage case

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu had allegedly thrashed Gurnam Singh, a 65-year-old man in Patiala. The fight reportedly ensued after Gurnam Singh asked them to remove their Gypsy, which was parked in the middle of the road. Following the fight, Singh was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. Subsequently, a case was filed. After a series of trials in courts, in September 2018, the Supreme Court agreed to examine a review petition filed by the victim's family members.

(With PTI inputs)