Vikram Chowdhary for NDTV

Chandigarh, Dec 6: Former cricketer and politician Navjot Singh Sidhu has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs one lakh.

In its verdict the Punjab and Haryana High Court also said that the sentence is suspended till January 31.

This means Sidhu will not be jailed for now but has time till then to appeal in the Supreme Court against the verdict.

Sidhu has been found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The incident dates back to 1988 when Sidhu and his friend had beaten up Gurnam Singh in a scuffle over a parking row in Patiala.

Gurnam Singh later succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

Legal opinion

According to legal experts if Sidhu gets more than a three-year term, he can be taken into custody. But he can approach the Supreme Court for bail.

"If it is three years or less then the sentence can be suspended and he can file and appeal in the Supreme Court but if the sentence is more than three years then the High Court will not suspend the sentence.

"He will have to seek bail from the Supreme Court by filing an appeal. The Supreme Court can ask him to surrender first and then press for bail or can also grant him bail without telling him to surrender," said Rajan Lakhpal, Senior Advocate, High Court.

Sidhu was being projected as the star campaigner for the Akali Dal-BJP combine in the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

The Akalis who are firmly behind Sidhu say that they will move the Supreme Court.

"I am 100 per cent convinced that he will get justice in the Supreme Court. He got justice in the lower court and I am sure he will get justice in Supreme Court," said Sukhbir Badal, General Secretary, Akali Dal.

Hard-hitting player

Sidhu made his debut for India against the mighty West Indies at Ahmedabad in 1983-84 and went on to play 51 tests and 136 ODIs.

He mesmerised fans with his hard-hitting shots till he ended his cricketing career in 1999.

In his second career as a commentator Sidhu began mauling the spoken word with his unorthodox but entertaining commentating style using a mix of metaphors and garbled clichés.

Popularly known as Sidhuisms, the witicisms soon became his trademark making him one of ESPN-Star's most known commentators.

In 2003 he was sacked by ESPN-star for using unparliamentary language on-air. The exact details and reasons for his contract's termination remain unclear.

Riding a popularity wave he ran for elections from the Amritsar constituency in 2004 and became a Member of parliament.