Navjot Singh Sidhu, currently serving as the Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, and Museums of the state of Punjab has been let off with a meager fine of Rs. 1,000 in a thirty year old road rage case. One person had died in the road rage accident involving Sidhu. However, the Supreme Court opined that there was no evidence to prove that the death of the deceased was caused by the single blow dealt by Navjot Singh Sidhu. Therefore, he has been convicted under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt. Even though there is a provision for imprisonment up to one year under Section 323, the apex court found it fit to only fine the accused having regard to mitigating circumstances in the case. Earlier, Sidhu had been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for three years by the Punjab & Haryana High Court which had found him guilty under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
In the concerned incident, Navjot Singh Sidhu along with his friend Rupinder Singh Sahu got involved in a scuffle over a parking spot with the deceased, Gurnam Singh. It was alleged that Sidhu and his friend turned violent and dragged Gurnam Singh out of his car. It was further alleged that the deceased was beaten black and blue by the duo. The two assailants fled from the spot. Later on, Gurnam Singh died on his way to the hospital. The investigation into the heart wrenching case was sluggish and it took eleven years for the trial court to reach a conclusion. The accused were acquitted and let off. The high court, had, however, found the accused guilty.
No one can dispute the wisdom of the apex court. It is the highest court of the land and its judgment is not liable to be questioned. However, the way the deceased and his family have been denied justice after an excruciating process of thirty years raises pertinent questions about the incompetence of the legal system. The fact that the deceased’s family had to wait for thirty years for getting justice, even after which the accused were acquitted and let off lightly, makes one believe that the law does not have enough teeth to bring the guilty to justice. A mere Rs.1,000 as punishment to the accused is a cruel joke on the kin of the deceased. It is a great travesty of justice that an innocent was killed and the investigating and the prosecuting authorities did not live up to the expectations of providing justice to the deceased.
While the mainstream media and political analysts are busy in describing how this is a landmark moment in the political career of cricketer-turned-Gandhi stooge, no one seems to care about how justice has been denied to the deceased. It is more than justified to ask who killed Gurnam Singh. It is clear that he died and someone killed him. If thirty years on, doubts still linger about what led to his death and who caused his death, it is a joke on the entire legal system of our country. The state can’t just get away with not being able to punish the perpetrators. The constitution provides right to life to every citizen. Where life of a citizen is taken away, it is a cardinal sin for the state to treat such a death in a light and casual manner. The way Navjot Singh Sidhu has been let off in the road rage case seriously puts under doubt the faith the people have in the legal system.