Sidhu resigns from Lok Sabha after conviction by High Court

New Delhi, Dec 1: Lok Sabha member and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu today resigned from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an 1988 road rage case.

In his letter to the Speaker, Mr Sidhu said that the High Court has passed an ''adverse order'' against him in the 18-year-old case arising out of an alleged road rage incident.

''The Hon'ble High Court will hear my lawyers on Wednesday with regard to quantum of punishment. Without resorting to technical arguments with regard to what the quantum of punishment will be and my right to challenge the judgement in appeal, I tender my resignation as member of Lok Sabha,'' he wrote in the letter The Amritsar MP stressed he had ''always stood for truth and moral grounds and these principles are above any office or power that I hold.''

Earlier, Mr Sidhu had sent letters to party President Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and senior party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee seeking their permission to resign from the Lok Sabha. ''He was granted permission,'' BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said at the party's daily briefing where the MP was also present.

''He had done so holding high moral values in esteem,'' she said.

However, Mrs Swaraj also sought to differentiate between the Shibu Soren case and Mr Sidhu, saying that Soren had been held guilty for murder under section 302, conspiracy, abduction and moral turpitude, while Sidhu was merely guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. While in the first case, the sentence could range upto capital punishment, in Mr Sidhu's case, the maximum punishment was upto 10 years imprisonment or fine or both.

''Mr Sidhu had held the high tradition of moral principles as he had resigned from the Lok Sabha, while Shibu Soren had not yet resigned from Parliament,'' she pointed out.

Mr Sidhu refused to comment on the case, noting it was still subjudice and it was not proper for him to say anything at this point of time. However, he noted that there was a lot of difference between a ''roadside brawl and a planned murder.'' Mrs Swaraj said that although the party had permitted him to resign from the Lok Sabha, Mr Sidhu would continue to work for the party, ''which holds him in high esteem.'' ''He would also be campaigning for the party in the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab,'' she added.

In his letter to the party leaders, Mr Sidhu said that he would continue to serve the party and continue to meet and help the people of his constituency, Amritsar.

UNI