Pair charged in Jassi Sidhu killing could be acquitted, fears expert on case

Although the mother and uncle of Jassi Sidhu have finally been extradited to face charges in India over the 25-year-old's murder in 2000, an expert in the case is concerned that justice won't be served.

Fabian Dawson, former deputy editor of The Province and Vancouver Sun, broke the original story about Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu's murder in 2000. He's followed and written about the case of the Maple Ridge, B.C., woman ever since.

Sidhu's mother and uncle, Malkit Sidhu and Surjit Badesha, have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and will appear in court in India this week.

"I am happy that they get their day in court," Dawson said.

"But I'm anxious because — and I hope I'm wrong — I believe that there's a high possibility of them being acquitted of the charges in India."

The pair are alleged to have planned the so-called honour killing of the 25-year-old because she married a poor rickshaw driver against the family's wishes.

An acquittal would mean Sidhu and Badesha, both Canadian citizens, could return to Canada within a few years of the trial, Dawson said.

Series of acquittals 

In addition to reporting on the case, Dawson was also the lead author of a book called Justice for Jassi.

His concern about a possible acquittal arises from previous trials and convictions in relation to the murder.

A dozen people were originally charged in Jassi Sidhu's murder, Dawson said, and seven were tried. After trials and appeals, he said three individuals are serving sentences in India for Sidhu's killing.

"The only people in jail right now are the actual killers," Dawson told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition.

"All the conspirators in the case had been acquitted."

'More to do with greed'

The case has been framed in the context of so-called honour killings because Sidhu was murdered for marrying against her family's wishes.

Dawson disagrees with looking at it through that lens and said there is evidence the family was arranging another marriage for Sidhu that would have involved a large sum of money in exchange for facilitating immigration to Canada.

"It's regretful that we used the term 'honour killing' because, in this case, it's got very little to do with religion and more to do with greed," he said.

"These kinds of cases shouldn't be tolerated. I just wish somebody would come up with a better terminology than honour killing."