Navjot Singh Sidhu Released from Patiala Jail After 10 Months

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was released from the Patiala jail in Punjab on Saturday after approximately 10 months.

Sidhu was sentenced to one-year jail by the Supreme Court in a three decades old road rage case.

On May 19, last year, Sidhu was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in the 1988 case of road rage in which Sidhu allegedly thrashed one Gurnam Singh, who later died in hospital.

Earlier today, Congress workers were seen with dhols outside the jail to welcome the cricketer-turned-politician.

Earlier, the court had reserved the review petition in the case filed by the family of the victim which sought to enlarge the scope of notice in the review petition against Sidhu. Sidhu, however, opposed plea by the victim's family citing an order of the apex court, which held that there was no evidence that the death of the victim was caused by a single blow in the road rage case. Sidhu submitted that the application was devoid of any merits and ought to be dismissed.

The case has gone through Session Court, High court and Supreme Court.
The former MP was acquitted in connection with the culpable homicide charges but was convicted of the offense of voluntarily causing hurt. The court had slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu. The court had also acquitted Sidhu's associate, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, in the case.

The Sessions Court Judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu and his associate, due to a lack of evidence in the case and giving the benefit of the doubt.

The verdict was then challenged by the victim's families before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had in 2006, convicted and sentenced Sidhu to three years imprisonment. Sidhu subsequently filed an appeal before the apex court challenging this order.