The British Columbia Appeal Court has granted interim release to Honour killing victim Jassi Sidhu’s 67-year-old mother Malkit Kaur Sidhu and uncle Surjit Badesha.
25-year-old Jassi Sidhu was killed in June 2000 when a group attacked the couple, taking Jassi away in a car.
Her body was found in a canal in Punjab .
he had fallen in love with a rickshaw driver on a trip to India and secretly married him several years later against the wishes of her family who had already arranged a marriage.
Sidhu had previously been ordered to be extradited by the federal government, but the B.C. court found India’s assurances that Sidhu would be safe in an Indian prison “unreasonable in light of the evidence of the prevalence of custodial torture and abuse of prisoners, especially female prisoners.”
The case was accepted for judicial review in February this year. So far, Sidhu has spent four and a half years in jail — her last bail application, made jointly with Badesha, was rejected in 2012.
“Although Ms. Sidhu faces prosecution for one of the most abhorrent of crimes, the public interest favours her release: she has been in custody for 4.5 years and has yet to be tried or convicted of any crime; she is 67 years old with deteriorating health ... bail (is) granted on strict terms including house arrest,” wrote Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon in her decision.
