Cricketer conviction put on hold

The Indian Supreme Court has put on hold the manslaughter conviction of former Indian cricketer and member of parliament Navjot Sidhu.

Sidhu was found guilty last month in the northern Punjab state of beating a man to death in a 1988 parking dispute. His three-year jail term was suspended to allow time to appeal.

Analysts say the judgement will allow Sidhu to contest a crucial parliamentary by-election in the state next month.

Under Indian law, a person convicted of a criminal offence is debarred from contesting elections until six years after his sentence.

Sidhu became an opposition Bharatiya Janata Party MP in 2004 but resigned from the seat last month following the conviction.

Flamboyant

The high court in Punjab took up the case after appeals by the family of his victim, Gurnam Singh, and the state government following his acquittal by a lower court in 1999.

Sidhu, 43, once a flamboyant batsman, became famous as a cricket commentator on Indian TV channels for his wisecracks, known as Sidhuisms.

He played in 51 Test matches for India between 1983 and 1999, scoring an average of 42.13 runs.

His conviction has been seen as evidence of a new-found appetite by India's courts to take on the rich and powerful.