It was a nerve-racking wait of nearly one-and-half hour for former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had come to surrender in the Court of UT Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) today. Although the formalities were done in no time, the former cricketer and his co-accused Rupinder Sandhu, who have been convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, had to wait for more than an hour for the Punjab Police to take them to Patiala jail. Accompanied by Satpal Jain, former MP, and a large number of fans, Sidhu maintained his composure as the wait outside the court of CJM stretched to over an hour. “The entire nation is with me in my hour of crisis. Thanks to those who have prayed for me and prayers for those who have criticised me. I have completely surrendered before the majesty of law and am ready for any consequences”, he beamed as mediapersons continued to rain questions on him. Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court declined to entertain his application seeking to surrender before it and instead directed Sidhu to appear before the court of CJM, Chandigarh, and surrender there. Sidhu’s counsel said he had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the order passed by the HC convicting him to three years of imprisonment. He further said in light of the Supreme Court rules, Sidhu had to surrender, hence he had moved the HC to surrender. The court, while refusing to interfere, stated that under Section 362 of the CrPC it could not pass any order on Sidhu’s application. When Sidhu’s counsel pointed out that it was important for him to surrender since his appeal was to be heard on January 12, the HC said it would take up the matter only if the SC directed it to do so. The court also stated that Sidhu’s application moved under Section 482 was not maintainable.
