Explained: Why was Navjot Singh Sidhu jailed? All you need to know about 1988 road rage case

Former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu will leave the Patiala jail on Saturday as his one-year severe imprisonment sentence granted by Supreme Court in a 1988 case involving road rage nears completion. According to Navjot Singh Sidhu’s statement on his official account on Twitter, the announcement was made public.

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

Why was Navjot Singh Sidhu in jail?
In 1988, Sidhu was charged with the death of Patiala resident Gurnam Singh due to road rage. The victim and two other people were travelling to the bank to withdraw money on December 27, 1988, when Sidhu and his aide Rupinder Singh Sandhu were in a Gypsy parked in the middle of the road close to the Sheranwala Gate Crossing in Patiala, claims the prosecution.

It was said that Gurnam Singh, driving a Maruti car, discovered the Gypsy in the middle of the road when they arrived at the crossing and ordered the two passengers, Sidhu and Sandhu, to move it. They got into a heated argument and as per reports, Navjot Singh Sidhu thrashed Gurnam Singh on his head which led to his death. 

In September 1999, Sidhu's murder charges were dismissed by the Patiala Sessions Court. In December 2006, the Punjab and Haryana High Court overturned the decision and found Sidhu and Sandhu guilty of culpable homicide that did not amount to murder in accordance with section 304(II) of the IPC.

The court fined them Rs 1 lakh both and sentenced them to three years in prison. After then, Sidhu appealed the high court's decision to the Supreme Court.

According to the jail staff, Sidhu will be freed early due to his exemplary behaviour. Sidhu has been imprisoned since May 20 of last year after the Supreme Court found him guilty of road rage in 1988 and sentenced him to a year in prison. Sidhu will probably experience a 45-day remission. His jail release was slated for May 16.