The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the conviction of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu in a 1988 road rage case, paving the way for him to contest the bypoll for Amritsar Lok Sabha seat.

"The order of conviction dated December 1, 2006 is suspended," a division bench comprising Justice G P Mathur and Justice R V Raveendran noted.

The bench further said that the conviction of Sidhu will not be operative till the disposal of his appeal against the high court judgment.

The apex court has already admitted the appeal filed by them as well as the petition filed by victim's relatives Jaswinder Singh seeking enhancement of sentence for the accused persons as well as for including the offence of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against them.

Welcoming the apex court's verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said the decision on Sidhu's nomination will be taken by the Central Election Committee of the party on Tuesday evening.  

PTI adds: 

Jubilant after the verdict, Sidhu said his future course of action will now depend upon the decision of the BJP high command.

"I had submitted to the majesty of the law and the Supreme Court had stayed my conviction and sentence," he told media persons.

Sidhu was not present in court when the verdict was pronounced but he was informed and he arrived immediately at the apex court and met his advocates including Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Maninder Singh.