NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court revived Navjot Singh Sidhu's trial under the election law in connection with alleged malpractice during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when the politician was elected from Amritsar. A bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi dismissed charges of corruption against Sidhu, but said he will have to stand trial for allegedly getting a Punjab government official transferred to seek his help.
"The allegation in the election petition is that the post to which Jagjit Singh Suchu was transferred from the Punjab State Electricity Board was under the state government and the assistance received by the returned candidate from the said person is while he was rendering service as Additional Superintending Engineer, while he was performing the duties in the state government. If that be so, the aforesaid issue also will have to go for a full trial as ordered by the High Court," the bench observed.
It rejected Sidhu's appeal as far as his trial for getting assistance by a government official was concerned and said the proceedings before the High Court will recommence. The trial was ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court under the election law on these charges. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had unsuccessfully contested from the Amritsar constituency for the BJP in 2014 after Sidhu's term ended, losing to Congress' Amarinder Singh.
