Holding

Section 389(1) CrPC authorises the suspension of the order of conviction, and in this case the conviction and sentence are suspended pending the appeal.

Summary

Navjot Singh Sidhu, a sitting Member of Parliament, was convicted by the Punjab High Court under Section 304 Part II IPC and sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment. He resigned from the Lok Sabha and sought a fresh mandate, filing an application to suspend the order of conviction, arguing that under Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 he could avoid disqualification by filing an appeal within three months. The Supreme Court examined whether Section 389(1) of the CrPC permits suspension of the conviction itself, and held that it does, especially where failure to do so would cause irreparable injury. The Court also clarified that the MP had not yet incurred disqualification because he could have relied on the protective provision of Section 8(4). Considering the special facts, the Court allowed the application, suspending both the conviction and the sentence until the appeal is decided.

Issues considered

Whether Section 389(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers an appellate court to suspend the operation of an order of conviction, not merely the execution of the sentence.
Whether a sitting Member of Parliament convicted of an offence incurs disqualification under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the effect of the protective clause in Section 8(4).
Whether the conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC is sustainable in view of the medical evidence and the inconsistencies in the FIR and witness statements.
Whether the court may stay the conviction to prevent the appellant from suffering irreparable injury and to allow him to contest a re‑election.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 319, s. 389
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 302, s. 304 Part II, s. 323, s. 34
Representation of the People Act, 1951s. 7(b), s. 8(3), s. 8(4)

Subjects

Conviction suspensionSection 389 CrPCRepresentation of the People ActDisqualification of MPAppeal pendingStay of convictionCriminal lawElection law

Judgment

NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU A
v.
STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR.

JANUARY 23, 2007

[G.P. MATHUR & R.V. RA VEENDRAN, JJ.] B

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-Sections 319 and 389-
Conviction of sitting Member of Parliament to 3 years regorous
imprisonment-Person resigning and seeking re-election from same seat-
Conviction challenged-Person released on bail and execution of sentence c
suspended-Application filed seeking suspension of order of conviction-
Held, Section 389(1) confers power not only to suspend execution of
sentence and to grant bail but also to suspend order of conviction-Person
could have continued to remain as Member of Parliament by merely filing
appeal or revision within 3 months from order of conviction till its
decision-However, person setting high standards in public life and
D
resigning from seat-Road side altercation-Incident happening all of a
sudden without any pre-meditation-No motive for commission of crime-
Name of person not specifically mentioned in FIR and summoned under
Section 319-Medical evidence inconclusive regarding cause of death of
deceased-High Court reversing order of acquittal passed by Trial Court- E
Incident happening prior to person entering public life and having no
connection with public life ofperson-In the facts and circumstances of the
case, order of conviction passed by High Court suspended-Indian Penal
Code, 1860-Sections 34, 302, 304 Part II and 323-Representation of
People Act, 1951-Sections 7(b) and 8(3) & (4). F

Appellant-N was a sitting Member of Parliament when he along with
co-accused-R was convicted under Section 304 Part II of Indian Penal,
Code, 1860, and sentenced to 3 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of
Rs. One lakh each by the High Court in appeal while reversing order of
acquittal by the Trial Court. The case of the prosecution was that G along G
with P.W. 3-J and P.W. 4-A were going to Bank for withdrawing money
in car driven by G and when G tried to overtake a Gypsy occupied by
appellant and R, the Gypsy turned and blocked the path and when G objected
to the obstruction caused by Gypsy, appellant and R got out of the Gypsy
vehicle and after abusing the occupants of the car, gave them fist blows also H
1143
1144 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007] I S.C.R.

A and escaped in their Gypsy taking away the keys of the Maruti car. G had
fallen down and was taken to hospital where he was declared dead. Appellant
and co-accused R were tried for charges under Section 302 IPC and
Section 323 read with Section 34 JPC but were acquitted by the Trial Court.

Appellant immediately after pronouncement of judgment by the High
B Court, resigned from membership of the Lok Sabha and wanted to seek
fresh mandate from the electorate by contesting the election. Appellant
filed Special Leave Petition challenging his conviction in which leave has j, J

been granted and appellant has been released on bail and execution of
sentence upon him has been suspended. Appellant has also moved an
c application for suspending the order of conviction passed against him by the
High Court.

Appellant inter alia contended that the medical evidence on record
does not at all disclose commission of an offence under Section 304 Part
II IPC and even ifthe prosecution version of the incident is accepted in toto,
D
it may at best amount to a case Under Section 323 IPC in which the
maximum sentence which can be awarded is 1 year R.I. and in such
l'
circumstances the appellant would not incur any disqualification under
Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

E Respondents inter alia contended that the appellant having given up
his rights under Sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of the
People Act and having himself resigned from the membership of the
Parliament, should not be permitted to offer himself as candidate and
cannot again come back to the Parliament until the appeal is decided in his
F favour; and that in order to maintain purity and probity in public bodies,
criminalisation of politics has to be stopped and persons who have been
~
convicted of any offence should not be allowed to enter the Parliament.

Allowing the application, the Court

G HELD: I. By virtue of Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the
Representation of the People Act, 1951 the appellant incurred the
disqualification as he has been sentenced to 3 years R.I. Sub-section (4) of
Section 8 provides that if on the date.ofthe conviction, a person isa Member ,,
:{
of the Parliament then notwithstanding anything in Sub•section (3), the
H disqualification mentioned therein shall not take effect until 3 months have
NA VJOT SINGH SIDHU v. STATE 1145

elapsed from the date of order of conviction and if within that period an A
appeal is brought in respect of the conviction or sentence, until that appeal
or application is disposed of by the Court. Since the appellant was a sitting
Member of Parliament, he would not have incurred the disqualification as
provided in Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Act, for a period of3 months
and if within that period he had filed an appeal until the decision of the
appeal. Therefore, the appellant could have easily avoided the incurring of
B
the disqualification by filing an appeal within three months from the date
of his conviction by the High Court. [Para 2) (1150-A-D)

K. Prabhakaran v. P. Jayarajan, (2005) 1 SCC 754, referred to.

2. Sub-section (1) of Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
c
1973 says that pending any appeal by a convicted person, the appellate
Court may, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order that the
execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended and, also,
if he is in confinement, he be released on bail, or on his own bond. This
Sub-section confers power not only to suspend the execution of sentence D
... and to grant bail but also to suspend the operation of the order appealed
r against which means the order of conviction. The legal position is, therefore,
clear that an appellate Court can suspend or grant stay of order of
conviction. But the person seeking stay of conviction should specifically
draw the attention of the appellate Court to the consequences that may arise E
ifthe conviction is not stayed. Unless the attention of the Court is drawn
to the specific consequences that would follow on account of the conviction,
the person convicted cannot obtain an order of stay of conviction. Further,
grant of stay of conviction can be resorted to in rare cases depending upon
the special facts of the case. [Para 3) (1150-E-F, 1152-E-F)

- Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang & Ors., (1995) 2 SCC 513 and Ravi
Kant S. Patil v. Sarvabhouma S. Bagali, JT (2006) 1 SC 578, followed.
F

3. The High Court has not adverted to the aspect of the case, viz, that
in the FIR it was not specifically mentioned that the appellant N had givfn G
the blow on the head of the deceased. This fact was also not stated by P.W.
3 in his statement before the Sessions Judge which was recorded on
20.1.1993 before the order had been passed under Section 319 Cr.P.C.
summoning the appellant. (Para 9) (1156-D-E]

4. The incident happened all of a sudden without any pre-meditation. H
1146 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 1 S.C.R.

A The deceased was wholly unknown to the appellant. There was no motive
for commission of the crime. The accused are alleged to have lost temper
and started giving abuses on account of objection raised by the occupants
of the Maruti car due to obstruction being caused by the vehicle of the
appellant. Blows by fist are alleged to have been given and no weapon of any
kind has been used. The medical evidence shows that the deceased had a
B
diseased heart. The doctor who performed the post-mortem examination was
unable to give the cause of death. The Medical Board gave its opinion after
nearly a fortnight and that too does not ascribe the death due to any external
injury but says "effects of head injury and cardiac condition." The medical
evidence does not conclusively establish that the death occurred due to blow
c given on the head. If in the FIR, which is the earliest version, and, also in
his statement in Court which was recorded after more than 4 years on
20.1.1993, P. W. 3-J did not assign any role of causing injury on the head
of the deceased to the appellant, whether his subsequent statement given
after several years, wherein he assigned the specific role to the appellant
D of hitting the deceased on the head by a fist and thereby making him
responsible for causing the death of the deceased should be believed, will ...
certainly require consideration at the time of hearing the appeal. If the
statement which P.W. 3 gave after several years wherein he attributed the
head injury to the appellant is not accepted for the reason that it is at
E variance with the version in the FIR and his earlier statement, the appellant
cannot be held guilty under Section 304 Part II IPC. These features of the
case which touch upon the culpability of the appellant, prima facie appear
to be in his favour. Another feature which has a bearing is that the findings
on factual aspects of the case recorded in favour of the appellant by the
Sessions Judge resulting in acquittal have been reversed in appeal by the
F High Court. [Para 10] (1156-F-H 1157-A-C]

5. The incident took place on 27.12.1998. It has no co-relation with
the public life of the appellant which he entered much later in 2004 when
he was elected as a Member of the Parliament. It is not a case where he ....
G took advantage of his position as M.P. in commission of the crime. It was
not necessary for the appellant to have resigned from the membership of
the Parliament as he could in law continue as M.P. by merely filing an
appeal within a period of 3 months and had he adopted such a course he
could have easily avoided incurring any disqualification at least till the
.( -
H decision of the appeal. However, he has chosen to adopt a moral path and
NAVJOTSINGHSIDHUv. STATE 1147

has set high standards in public life by resigning from his seat and in A
seeking to get a fresh mandate from the people. In the event prayer made
by the appellant is not granted he would suffer irreparable injury as he
would not be able to contest for the seat which he held and has fallen vacant
only on account of his voluntary resignation which he did on purely moral
grounds. Having regard to the entire facts and circumstances, it is a fit
B
case where the order of conviction passed by the High Court deserves to
be suspended. [Para 11) (1157-D-G)
"
6. If a person convicted of any offence enumerated in Sub-sections (1 ),
(2) and (3) of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 files
,,. an appeal within three months he continues to remain a Member of c
Parliament or Legislature of a Sate on the basis of protection afforded by
Sub-section (4), but not on any moral authority because the electorate had
exercised their franchise prior to the order of conviction and not when he
had become a convict. But a person who resigns from the Parliament or the
Assembly and seeks a re-election, if elected, will have greater moral D
authority to represent the constituency. (Para 12) (1158-C-D)
1
7. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is a complete Code. The
Act provides not only the eligibility and qualification for membership of the
House of People and Legislative Assembly but also for disqualification on
conviction and other matters. The Parliament in its wisdom having made E
a specific provision for disqualification on conviction by enacting Section
8, it is not for the Court to abridge or expand the same. It is not possible
to hold, as a matter of rule, or, to lay down, that in order to prevent any

.
person who has committed an offence from entering the Parliament or the
Legislative Assembly the order of conviction should not be suspended. The F
). Courts have to interpret the law as it stands and not on considerations
which may be perceived to be morally more correct or ethical.
[Para 13) [1158-G, 1159-A-C)

Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang & Ors., [1995) 2 SCC 513 and Ravi
Kant S. Patil v. Sarvabhouma S. Bagali, JT (2006) 1 SC 578, relied on.
G

8. In cases involving conviction on charges of corruption it would be
highly improper to suspend the order of conviction of a public servant which
would enable him to occupy the same office which he misused. This is not
the case here. [Para 15) [1160-B) H
-t-
1148 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 1 S.C.R.

State of Tamil Nadu v. A. Jaganathan, [1996] 5 SCC 329 and K.C. -1
A
Sareen v: C.B.I., Chandigarh, [2001] 6 SCC 584, held inapplicable. ·

9. The application moved by the appellant deserves to be allowed. The
order of conviction passed against the appellant by the High Court and the
sentence awarded are suspended and the conviction shall not be operative
B till the decision of the appeal. [Para 16} [1160-CJ

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : CRL. M.P. No. 490/2007 in
Criminal Appeal No. 59 of2007 .

c . From the Judgments and Orders dated 1.12.2006 and 6.12.2006 of the
High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in Crl. A. No. 645-DBA/
2000 and Crl. Misc. No. l 85-MA/2000 respectively.

Harish N. Salve, Arun Jaitley, U.U. Lalit, Sr. Advs., Maninder Singh,
Pratibha M. Singh, Kirtiman Singh, Nitin Sangra, Gaurav Sharma, Sumeet
D Bhatia and Aprajita Singh for the Appellant.
...
..,
Sushil Kumar, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sr. Advs., Sarup Singh, A.A.G., Sanjay
Jain, Vinay Arora, Aditya Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Suciarshan Singh Rawat,
Anrnol Thakral, Sudhir Walia, M:ahinder Singh Dahiya, Gaurav Bhatia,
E Abhishek Chauqhary and Gaurav Dhama for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

G. P. MATHUR, J. : The appellant Navjot Singh Sidhu along with co-
accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu was tried for charges under Section 302 IPC
F and Section 323 read with. Section 34 IPC, but was acquitted by the learned
;.(
...
_

Sessions Judge, Patiala, by the judgment and order dated 22.9.1999 which
order was challenged by the State of Punjab by filing an appeal in the High
Court which has been allowed and the appellant has been convicted under
Section 304 Part II IPC and has been sentenced to 3 years R.I. and a fine ....
G of rupees one Iakh. The co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu has also been
convicted under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34 IPC and has been
sentenced to 3 years R.I. and a fine of rupees one lakh. He has further been
convicted under Section 323 IPC and has been sentenced to 3 months R.I. :.
-I'
The appellant filed special leave petition in this Court in which leave has
been granted on 12.1.2007 and he has been' released on bail and thus the
H
NAVJOTSINGHSIDHUv. STATE[MATHUR,J.] 1149

execution of the sentence imposed upon him has been suspended .. The A
appellant also moved an application for suspending the order of conviction
passed against him by the High Court on which notice was issued to the
State of Punjab and the said application is being disposed of by the present
order.

2. The circumstances leading to the filing of the application for B
suspension of order of conviction need to be noticed. The appellant was a
sitting Member of Parliament. Immediately after the pronouncement of
judgment by the High Court, he resigned from the membership of the Lok
Sabha. It is stated in the application that for maintaining probity and moral
' values in public life he resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha after
his conviction. However, he wants to remain in public life and, therefore,
c
wants to contest the election again and face the electorate in the changed
scenario. The reason for seeking a stay or suspension of order of conviction
arises on account of Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act,
195 l (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") by operation of which he has
incurred a disqualification for being chosen as, and for being, a member of D
either House of Parliament. Section 7(b) and Sub-sections (3) and (4) of
l
Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which have a
bearing on controversy in hand read as under:-

"7(b) "disqualified" means disqualified for being chosen as, and for
,E
being, a member of either House of Parliament or of the Legislative
Assembly or Legislative Council of a State."

"8(3) A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to
imprisonment for not less than two years (other than any offence
referred to in sub-section (I) or sub-section (2)) shall be disqualified F
from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified
for a further period of six years since his release.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (!), sub-section (2)
and sub-section (3) a disqualification under either sub-section shall
not, in the case of a person who on the date of the conviction is G
a member of Parliament or the Legislature of a State, take effect until
three months have elapsed from that date or, if within that period
an appeal or application for revision is brought in respect of the
conviction or the sentence, untii that appeal or application is
disposed of by the court." H
t •
,.
1150 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] I S.C.R.
-\

A By virtue of Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Act the appellant
incurred the disqualification as he has been sentenced to 3 years R.I. Sub-
section (4) of Section 8 provides that if on the date of the conviction, a
person is a Member of the Parliament then notwithstanding anything in Sub-
section (3), the disqualification mentioned therein shall not take effect until
3 months have elapsed from the date of order of conviction and if within
B
that period an appeal is brought in respect of the conviction or sentence,
until that appeal or application is disposed of by the Court. This provision (

has been interpreted by a Constitution Bench in K. Prabhakaran v. P.
Jayarajan, [2005] I SCC 754 and it has been held that the protection against
_disqualification will be available only till the current life of the House
c (Parliament or the Legislature of a State) and the person continues to be a
member of a House, and not thereafter. Since the appellant was a sitting
Member of Parliament, he would not have incurred the disqualification as
provided in Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Act, for a period of 3 months
and if within that period he had filed an appeal until the decision of the
D appeal. Therefore, the appellant could have easily avoided the incurring of
....
the disqualification by filing an appeal within three months from the date of T
his conviction by the High Court. However, he chose to resign from the
membership of the Lok Sabha soon after he was convicted by the High
Court and wants to seek a fresh mandate by contesting the election.
E
3. Before _proceeding further it may be seen whether there is any
provision which may enable the Court to suspend the order of conviction
as normally what is suspended is the execution of the sentence. Sub-section
(1) of Section 389 says that pending any appeal by a convicted person, the
appellate Court may, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order that
F the execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended and, J!
-4"

also, if he is in confinement, that he be released or bail, or on his own bond.
This Sub-section confers power not only to suspend the execution of
sentence and to grant bail but also to suspend the operation of the order ......
appealed against which means the order of conviction. This question has
G been examined in considerable detail by a Three Judge Bench of this Court
in Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang & Ors., (1995) 2 SCC 513 and Ahmadi,
C.J., speaking for the Court, held as under (para 19 of the reports) :-
-<
"19. That takes us to the question whether the scope of Section
389(1) of the Code extends to conferring power on the Appellate
H
,_
-+
NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU v. STATE [MATHUR, J.] 1151

Court to stay the operation of the order of conviction. As stated A
earlier, ifthe order of conviction is to result in some disqualification
of the type mentioned in Section 267 of the Companies Act, we see

- no reason why we should give a narrow meaning to Section 389(1)
of the Code to debar the court from granting an order to that effect
in a fit case. The appeal under Section 374 is essentially against the
order of conviction because the order of sentence is merely
B
consequential thereto; albeit even the order of sentence can be
independently challenged if it is harsh and disproportionate to the
established guilt. Therefore, when an appeal is preferred under
Section 374 of the Code the appeal is against both the conviction
and sentence and, therefore, we see no reason to place a narrow C
interpretation on Section 3 89(1) of the Code not to extend it to an
order of conviction, although that issue in the instant case recedes
to the background because High Courts can exercise inherent
jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code if the power was not to
be found in Section 389(1) of the Code. We_ are, therefore, of the
D
opinion that the Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay was
not right in holding that the Delhi High Court could not have
exercised jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code if it was
confronted with a situation of there being no other provision in the
Code for staying the operation of the order of conviction. In a fit
case if the High Court feels satisfied that the order of conviction E
needs to be suspended or stayed so that the convicted person
does not suffer from a certain disqualification provided for in any
other statute, it may exercise the power because otherwise the
damage done cannot be undone; the disqualification incurred by
Section 267 of the Companies Act and given effect to cannot be F
undone at a subsequent date if the conviction is set aside by the
Appellate Court. But while granting a stay or suspension of the
order of conviction the Court must examine the pros and cons and
J, if it feels satisfied that a case is made out for grant of such an order,
it may do so and in so doing it may, if it considers it appropriate,
impose such conditions as are considered appropriate to protect G
the interest of the shareholders and the business of the company."

The aforesaid view has recently been reiterated and followed by
another Three Judge Bench in Ravi Kant S. Patil v. Sarvabhouma S.
Baga/i, JT (2006) 1 SC 578. After referring to the decisions on the issue, viz., H
+
1152 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007] 1 S.C.R.

A State of Tamil Nadu v. A. Jaganathan, (1996] 5 SCC 329, K.C. Sareen v.
CB.I., Chandigarh, (2001] 6 SCC 584, B.R. Kapur v. State of TN. & Anr.,
(2001] 7 SCC 231 and State of Maharashtra v. Gajanan & Anr., (2003] 12
SCC 432, this Court concluded (para 12.5 of the report) :

"All these decisions, while recognizing the power to stay conviction,
B have cautioned and clarified that such power should be exercised
only in exceptional circumstances where failure to stay the conviction,
would lead to injustice and irreversible consequences."

The Court also observed :-
c
"I I. It deserves to be clarified that an order granting stay of
c0nviction is not the rule but is an exception to be resorted to in
rare cases depending upon the facts of a case. Where the execution
of the sentence is stayed, the conviction cbntinues to operate. But
where the conviction itself is stayed, the effect is that the conviction
D
will not be operative from the date of stay. An order of stay, of
course, does not render the conviction non-existent, but only non-
operative ....... "

· The legal position is, therefore, clear that an appellate Court can
E suspend or grant stay of order of conviction. But the person seeking stay
of conviction should specifically draw the attention of the appellate Court
to the consequences that may arise if the conviction is not stayed. Unless
the attention of the Court is drawn to the specific consequences that would
follow on account of the conviction, the person convicted cannot obtain an
F order of stay of conviction. Further, grant of stay of conviction can be
resorted to in rare cases depending upon the special facts of the case.

4. In the present case the appellant has sought the stay or suspension
of the order of conviction passed against him by the High Court on the ....
ground that he was a sitting Member of Parliament on the date of the
G conviction and though he would not have incurred any disqualification and
could have continued to rema.in as Member of Parliament by merely filing
an appeal within three months and the protection would have enured to his
benefit till the decision of the appeal but in order to set high standards in
public life he immediately resigned form the membership of the Lok Sabha.
H He now wants to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate and wants to
-f

----\
NAVJOTSINGHSIDHUv. STATE[MATHUR,J.] 1153

contest the election for membership of the Lok Sabha which is due to take A
place shortly on account of his resignation. Keeping in view the said fact
the present application needs consideration.

5. At this stage it is necessary to refer to the broad features of the case
and the evidence which is available on the record. The case of the
prosecution, in brief, is that at about 12.30 p.m. on 27.12.1988 Gumam Singh B

- (deceased) along with P.W.3 Jaswinder Singh and P.W.4 Avtar Singh were
going to State Bank of Patiala for withdrawing some money for the forthcoming
marriage of the son of the deceased. When the Maruti car which was being
driven by Gurnam Singh reached near Sheranwala Gate Crossing, a Gypsy
bearing No.PAD-6030 was found standing ahead of them. When Gumam c
Singh tried to overtake the Gypsy, it turned and blocked the way, on which
Gumam Singh and others asked the occupants of Gypsy to move their
vehicle. On this the appellant Navjot Singh Sidhu got out of the Gypsy
.... vehicle and after abusing the occupants of the Maruti car, dragged out
Gurnam Singh and gave fist blows to him. P.W.3 Jaswinder Singh wanted
to save Gumam Singh but co-accused Ravinder Singh Sandhu, who was
D
1 also in the Gypsy, came out and gave fist blows to him as well. Thereafter,
---;
the appellant and co-accused Ravinder Singh Sandhu escaped in the Gypsy
; taking away the keys of the Maruti car. Gurnam Singh had fallen down and
he was taken to Rajindra Hospital by Avtar Singh and Jaswinder Singh,
where the doctors declared him dead. Jaswinder Singh then lodged an FIR E
of the incident at 1.30-1.45 p.m. at P.S. Kotwali. The inquest was held on the
body of the deceased and in the inquest report the statements of Jaswinder
Singh and Avtar Singh were also recorded. After investigation of the case,
the police submitted charge sheet only against Ravinder Singh Sandhu and
the name of the appellant was mentioned in Column no.2. The learned F
> Additional Sessions framed charge under Section 304 Part I IPC against
Ravinder Singh Sandhu and after some evidence had been recorded including
that of P. W.3 Jaswinder Singh, an order was passed under Section 319
......, Cr.P.C. whereby the appellant was summoned to stand trial. Jaswinder Singh
J had also filed a criminal, ¢oinplaint against both the accused on which
·~ cognizance was taken and they were committed to the Court of Sessions. G
In the trial the prosecution examined two witnesses of fact viz., P.W.3
Jaswinder Singh and P.W.4 Avtar Singh, besides the doctors and other
) formal witnesses. In his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. the appellant
"t denied the prosecution case and stated that at the time of the incident he
~
was present in his office (the Head Office of the State Bank of Patiala, Mall H
+
1154 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] I S.C.R.

A Road). He heard some commotion and then came out and saw that a
scooterist and a driver of the truck were quarreling and shouting over each
other. When he reached the spot, he found that a sikh gentleman was lying
on the ground after suffering a heart attack. He tried to pacify the people.
However, being a cricketer of international fame, he became centre of
attraction of the people and on suspicion he was involved in the case. He
B also examined a defence witness, viz., D. W. l Rajbir Singh, who corroborated
the version of the appellant.

6. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the learned
Sessions Judge had given good reasons for acquitting the accused and the
C High Court has committed manifest error of law in reversing the finding of
acquittal and in convicting the appellant. He has submitted that in the site
plan prepared by the Investigating Officer, the Maruti car, which was
allegedly being driven by the deceased, was not at all shown nor any
evidence has come on record to show as to how the car was removed from
the spot. The prosecution has later on come with a case that a duplicate key
D
was prepared by a mechanic by which the car was started but no evidence
in that regard has been produced nor the said mechanic has been examined
as a witness and this completely falsifies the prosecution case. It has also
been urged that the medical evidence on record does not at all disclose
commission of an offence under Section 304 Part II IPC and even if the
E prosecution version of the incident is accepted in toto, it may at best amount 't
to a case under Section 323 IPC in which the maximum sentence which can '
be awarded is I year R.I. and in such circumstances the appellant would not
incur any disqualification under Sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Act.

F 7. Though for the purpose of decision of the prayer made by the
,(
appellant for staying or suspending the order of conviction, it is not
t=
necessary to minutely examine the merits of the case, nevertheless we
consider it proper to refer to the medical evidence, which has ari important
bearing on the nature of the offence alleged to have been committed by the
appellant.
...
t.--

G ~

8. P.W.3 Jaswinder Singh was medically examined at 8.30 p.m. on
27 .12.1988 and his medical examination report reads as under :-
~

1. The patient complained of pain over the left side of the fore- f...--
H head and slight giddiness. Tenderness was present.
NAVJOTSINGHSIDHUv. STATE[MATHUR,J.] 1155

2. Patient complained of pain over the right and left flanks. He A
was advised to be kept under observation and was referred
to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.

PW. I Dr. Jatinder Kumar Sadana conducted post-mortem examination
on the body of the deceased Gurnam Singh at 4.30 p.m. on 27 .12.1988 and
found the following injuries on his person :- B
I. An abrasion 0.75 cm x 0.5 cm over the left temporal region at
the junction of upper part of pinna.

2. An abrasion 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm over the front of left knee. C

On opening the skull subdural haemorrhage was found present on the
left temporal region. The doctor was unable to give the cause of death and
deferred his opinion till the receipt of the report of the Pathological
examination. He sent the lungs, heart, part of liver, spleen and kidneys for
Pathological examination to Medical College, Patiala. In his cross-examination
D
1 the doctor stated that there was no fracture under injury no. I and the
possibility could not be ruled out that the said injury may have been
received by a fall on the ground. He further stated that there was no external
injury on the front part except the subdural haemorrhage and that subdural
haemorrhage is not fatal in all cases. The Pathological Report showed that E
the deceased had a very weak heart and his main arteries were blocked.
Thereafter, a Board of Doctors was constituted which consisted of seven
doctors. Dr. Krishan Vij, Professor and Head of the Department of Forensic
Medicines, Government Medical College, Chandigarh, who was member of
the Board appeared as a witness and he gave his opinion Ex.PA which reads F
) as under :-

"Death in this case is attributed to the effects of head injury and
cardiac condition. However, the head injury itself could be sufficient
to cause death in the ordinary· course of nature."
G
In his cross-examination, he states thus :

) "It is correct that an abrasion is hardly of any significance from the
point of view of Joss of life. Injury No. I was an abrasion only."
H
1156 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 1 S.C.R

A He also stated that the condition of the heart of the deceased was
abnormal at the time of the post-mortem examination as it suffered from
various ailments mentioned in the report of the Pathologist. He further stated
that Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Head of the Department of Cardiology was of the
view that the cardiac condition as reported by the Pathologist could also
result in sudden cardiac death .under stress.
B
9. Some observations made by the learned Sessions Judge regarding
the head injury sustained by the deceased deserve notice and they read as
under :-

c "Furthermore, the all important blow on the head of Gurnam Singh
was not specifically described in either Ex.PQ (FIR) or Ex.DB
(Jaswinder Singh's statement dated January 20 1993, recorded by
the Addl. Sessions Judge Patiala atthe pre 319 Cr.P.C. stage). This
was an important omission since it was the injury on the head
which was alleged to be one of the causes of death ....... "
D
The High Court has not adverted to this aspect of the case, viz, that
in the FIR it was not specifically mentioned that the appellant Navjot Singh
Sidhu had given the blow on the head of the deceased. This fact was also
not stated by Jaswinder Singh in his statement before the learned Sessions
E Judge which was recorded on 20.1.1993 before the order had been passed
under Section 319 Cr.P.C. summoning the appellant.

10. We have pointed out above the broad features of the case. The
incident happened all of a sudden without any pre-meaitation. The deceased
F was wholly unknown to the appellant. There was no motive for commission
of the crime. The accused are alleged to have lost temper and started giving
abuses on account of objection raised by the occupants of the Maruti car
due to obstruction being caused by the vehicle of the appellant. Blows by
fist are alleged to have been given and no weapon of any kind has been
used. The medical evidence shows that the deceased had a diseased heart.
G The doctor who performed the post-mortem examination was unable to give
the cause of death. The Medical Board gave its opinion after nearly a
fortnight and that too does not ascribe the death due to any external injury
but says "eff7cts of head injury and cardiac condition." The medical
evidence does not conclusively establish that the death occurred due to
H blow given on the head. If in the FIR, which is the earliest version, and, also
NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU v. STATE [MATHUR, 1.] 1157

in his statement in Court which was recorded after more than 4 years on A
20.1.1993, Jaswinder Singh did not assign any role of causing injury on the
head of the deceased to the appellant, whether his subsequent statement
given after several years, wherein he assigned the specific role to the
appellant of hitting the deceased on the head by a fist and thereby making
him responsible for causing the death of the deceased should be believed,
will certainly require consideration at the time of hearing the appeal. If the
B
statement which Jaswinder Singh gave after several years wherein he
attributed the head injury to the appellant is not accepted for the reason that
it is at variance with the version in the FIR and his earlier statement, the
appellant cannot be held guilty under Section 304 Part II IPC. These features
of the case which touch upon the culpability of the appellant, prima facie C
appear to be in his favour. Another feature which has a bearing is that the
findings on factual aspects of the case recorded in favour of the appellant
by the learned Sessions Judge resulting in acquittal have been reversed in
appeal by tht: High Court.

D
11. The incident took place on 27.12.1988. It has no co-relation with the
public life of the appellant which he entered much later in 2004 when he was
elected as a Member of the Parliament. It is not a case where he took
advantage of his position as M.P. in commission of the crime. As already
stated, it was not necessary for the appellant to have resigned from the
membership of the Parliament as he could in law continue as M.P. by merely E
filing an appeal within a period of 3 months and had he adopted such a
course he could have easily avoided incurring any disqualification at least
till the decision of the appeal. However, he has chosen to adopt a moral path
and has set high standards in public life by resigning from his seat and in
seeking to get a fresh mandate from the people. In the event prayer made F
by the appellant is not granted he would suffer irreparable injury as he
would not be able to contest for the seat which he held and has fallen vacant
only on account of his voluntary resignation which he did on purely moral
grounds. Having regard to the entire facts and circumstances mentioned
above we are of the opinion that it a fit case where the order of conviction
passed by the High Court deserves to be suspended. G

12. Shri Sushil Kumar, learned senior counsel for the State of Punjab
)· has submitted that the case in hand cannot be called as a rare case where
an order for suspension of conviction should be passed. Learned counsel
has also submitted that the appellant having given up his rights under Sub- H
+
'

1158 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 1 S.C.R.

A section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act and having
himself resigned from the membership of the Parliament, cannot again come
back to the Parliament until the appeal is decided in his favour. In -our
opinion the contentions raised have no substance. The broad- features of the
case which impel us to grant the order in favour of the appellant have
already been discussed earlier and it is not necessary to repeat -the same.
B The argument that the appellant having given up his right under Sub-section
(4) of Section 8 should not be permittedto offer himself as a candidate, again
is wholly misconceived. If a person convicted of any offence enumerated in
Sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of Section· 8 of.. the Act files an -appeal within
three months he continues to remain a Member of Parliament or-Legislature
c of a Sate on the basis of protection afforded by Sub-section (4);but not on
any moral authority because the electorate had exercised their franchise.prior
to the order of conviction and not when he had become a convict •But a
person who resigns from the Parliament or the Assembly and seeks a re-
election, if elected, will have greater moral authority to ·represent the
constituency. Therefore, it is not possible to accept the contentions raised
D
by Shri Sushi! Kumar.

13. Shri Rakesh Dwivedi, learned senior counsel for the complainant
has submitted that in order to maintain purity and probity in public bodies,
criminalisation of politics has to be stopped and persons who ·have been
E convicted of any offence should not be allowed to enter the·Parliarnent. ·He
has elaborated his argument by submittit~g that irrespective of quantum of
sentence if a person is convicted for an offence referred.to in Sub-section
(1) of Section 8 where the punishment imposed may be only a fine, a person
will incur;the disqualification from the date of conviction which will remain
F for a period of six years and this evinces the intention of the Legislature-that
a convict should not enter the precincts of Parliament-or Legislature .of a
State. In our opinion the contention raised cannot ·be -accepted. The
Representation of the People Act, .1951 is a complete Code. ·The _preamble
of the Act is -

G An Act to provide for the conduct of ,.elections to the Houses of
Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State,
the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of (hose Houses,
.the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such -1
elections and the decision of doubt$ and disputes arising out of or in
H connection with such elections.
J

NAVJOTSINGHSIDHUv. STATE[MATHUR,J.] 1159

The Act provides not only the eligibility and qualification for A
membership of the House of People and Legislative Assembly but also for
disqualification on conviction and other matters. The Parliament in its .
wisdom having made a specific provision for disqualification on conviction
by enacting Section 8, it is not for the Court to abridge or expand the same.
The decisions of this Court rendered in Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang
& Ors. (supra) and Ravi Kant S. Patil v. Sarvabhouma S. Bagali (supra)
B
having recognized the power possessed by the Court of appeal to suspend
or stay an order of the conviction and having also laid down the parameters
for exercise of such power, it is not possible to hold, as a matter of rule, or,
to lay down, that in order to prevent any person who has committed an
offence from entering the Parliament or the Legislative Assembly the order c
of the conviction should not be suspended. The Courts have to interpret
the law as it stands and not on considerations which may be perceived to
be morally more correct or ethical.

14. Shri Rakesh Dwivedi has also submitted that once an accused has
D
been convicted and sentenced, it is only the execution of the sentence
which can be suspended and the order of conviction cannot be suspended
or stayed as the same is not capable of being stayed or suspended. For this
reliance is placed on certain observations made in paras 34 and 44 of the
decision rendered in B.R. Kapur v. State ofT.N. & Anr., [2001] 7 SCC 231
and on paras 42, 43, 53 and 54 in K Prabhakaran v. P. Jayarajan, [2005] E
1 sec 754. The contention is that the appellant would not be absolved of
the disqualification even if an order of suspension or stay of the conviction
is passed by this Court. We are dealing here with the limited question, viz.,
the prayer made by the appellant for suspending or staying the order of
. conviction. We are not required to adjudicate upon the question as to what F
will be the effect of the order and further whether he will continue to be
disqualified for the purpose of contesting the election even if the prayer
made by the appellant is granted as such an issue is wholly alien to the
present controversy which can arise only in an election petition where the
validity of the election may be called in question.
G
15. Lastly, Shri Dwivedi has submitted that in view of the law laid
down in State of Tamil Nadu v. A. Jaganathan, [1996] 5 SCC 329 and K.C.
Sareen v. CB.I., Chandigarh, [2001] 6 SCC 584 the order of conviction
passed against the appellant should not be suspended. The cases cited
have no application to the facts of the present case as both of them related H
1160 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] I S.C.R:

A to conviction on charges of corruption and in that context it was observed
that when conviction is on a corruption charge, it would be a sublime public
policy that the convicted person is kept under disability of the conviction
instead of keeping the sentence· of imprisonment in abeyance till the
disposal of the appeal. In such cases it is obvious that it would be highly
improper to suspend the order of conviction of a public servant which would
B enable him to occupy the same office which he misused. This is not the case
here.
j
....
16. For the reasons discussed above, we are of the opinion that the
application moved by the appellant deserves to be allowed. The order of
C conviction passed against the appellant by the High Court on l.12.2006 and
the sentence awarded on 6.12.2006 are suspended and the conviction shall
not be operative till the decision of the appeal.

A.K.T. Application allowed.