Baltej Singh Lailna to face trial for alleged murder of wife Kamaljeet Sidhu
A Sydney man who was earlier deemed unfit to stand trial over the alleged murder of his wife, after suggesting she could have been a “duplicate” of herself, has since been declared mentally fit and pleaded not guilty to the crime.
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A man accused of stabbing his wife to death in their Sydney home has pleaded not guilty, after earlier being found unfit to stand trial.
The Crown alleges Baltej Singh Lailna fatally wounded 27-year-old Kamaljeet Sidhu in Quakers Hill on May 20, 2020.
In September 2021, the NSW Supreme Court ruled the 33-year-old was still not mentally fit to stand trial due to severe treatment-resistant schizophrenia.
Court heard after his arrest, Lailna allegedly questioned whether the woman who died was his wife, saying it could have been “a duplicate”.
Lailna and Sidhu moved from India to Australia where they had been married for years, court earlier heard.
On Friday, Justice Helen Wilson said a tribunal had later found Lailna fit to stand trial.
He pleaded not guilty to the murder via a Punjabi interpreter.
Justice Wilson said Lailna will stand trial on February 6 next year at the NSW Supreme Court, which she expected to last two-to-three days.
Bail was refused and Lailna remained in custody.
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