The Supreme Court on September 12, 2018, decided to review its own judgment in 1998 road rage case involving cricketer-turned-Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The apex court had, on May 15, 2018, acquitted Mr. Sidhu of culpable homicide in the case while finding him guilty of the lesser offence of voluntarily causing hurt under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The judgment was pronounced by a Bench led by Justice J. Chelameshwar (now retired), stating that the crime was 30 years old and there was no former enmity between Mr. Sidhu and his victim Gurnam Singh. It had even said that roadside brawls were a “very common sight in this country.”
The Bench holding Mr. Sidhu guilty under Section 323 of the IPC, 1860, had asked him to pay Rs. 1000 to the victim’s family, stating that the payment would “meet the ends of justice.”
However, aggrieved by the judgment the victim’s family decided to return to the Supreme Court to review its own judgment.
The Review Bench, led by Justice Khanwilkar, admitted the family’s petition and issued a notice to Mr. Sidhu to respond on why the quantum of his punishment should not be changed.
