Fresh trouble for newly elected BJP MP Sidhu

New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed that the application challenging its order staying the conviction and sentence of former test cricketer and newly elected BJP MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu will be placed before the same bench which has passed the stay order.

Justice Arijit Pasayat issued the direction when the petitioner, lady advocate Lily Thomas sought to intervene in the case, on the grounds that her petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 8 of the Representation of the People's Act, which says that if sentence is of more than two years and the conviction has been stayed by the appellate court then the person concerned can contest any election, has already been admitted by this court.

A Bench comprising Justice G P Mathur and Justice R V Raveendran has stayed the conviction of Sidhu in road rage case in which he was sentenced by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to three years imprisonment along with a fine of Rs one lakh along with his associate Rupender Singh Sandhu.

A person named Gurnam Singh had been killed due to the beating given to him by the two on December 27, 1988 in Patiala after an altercation over the parking of a car.

The trial court had acquitted both in September 1990.

The High Court however, reversed the acquittal order and convicted both. Sidhu had sought the stay of his conviction on the ground that he wanted to contest by-elections to Amritsar Lok Sabha seat from which he had resigned after his conviction.

Sidhu has since been reelected to the Lok Sabha seat.

UNI