A woman who caused a fatal head-on collision while chasing her lover’s wife is appealing her prison sentence, arguing she should have received home detention instead, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Sharanjit Kaur was sentenced to four years in jail at the Hamilton District Court earlier this year for killing 49-year-old Jonathan “Jono” Baker in East Auckland on June 27, 2024. Kaur had pursued her partner’s wife in a car after seeing a photo of her partner with his family, and in the course of reckless driving, she veered into oncoming traffic, colliding with Baker’s vehicle.

According to the Herald, her lawyer Matthew Goodwin told the High Court at Hamilton that the sentencing judge, Arthur Tompkins, had failed to properly consider Kaur’s mental health challenges and cultural background. Goodwin argued these factors, along with her completion of 150 hours of community service, showed remorse and prospects for rehabilitation, which should have led to a sentence of home detention.

Kaur, 40, had been in a relationship with a man referred to in court documents as “Mr R” for eight years, while he remained married to his wife and maintained ties with his children. After seeing a recent photo of him dining with his family, Kaur had what Goodwin described as a “meltdown”. She confronted her partner, then drove to his children’s school, where she waited for his wife.

The Herald reported that Kaur pursued the woman’s car, stopped in the middle of the road, banged on her windows, and resumed following at speed. She then crashed into Baker’s car while driving on the wrong side of Boyd Rd at speeds of between 125km/h and 136km/h, braking only to 109km/h at impact.

At sentencing, Baker’s wife Andrea recalled her last moments with her husband, describing how he had made her coffee that morning, said “I love you,” and left for work with a smile.

During the appeal hearing, Goodwin acknowledged the case was tragic but maintained the severity of the outcome had been overemphasised. He referred to a psychological report that linked Kaur’s depression, isolation, and suicidal ideation to her actions, saying these factors contributed to impaired decision-making. He argued it was too simplistic to describe her state as rage, noting her long-standing emotional trauma and cultural ostracism after entering a relationship with Mr R.

High Court judge Justice James MacGillivray questioned how the psychological issues outlined in the report related to the “sustained rage” displayed during the offending. Goodwin said it was the culmination of accumulated pressures within a complex relationship, triggered by seeing the family photo.

However, Crown prosecutor Rebecca Mann, as reported by the Herald, said Judge Tompkins had already considered the relevant materials and correctly determined they did not alter the sentencing outcome. She argued that Kaur’s behaviour amounted to deliberate and targeted reckless driving, pointing to her persistence in chasing Mrs R and lying in wait at the school. Mann rejected claims of a causal link between Kaur’s depression and the offending, saying cultural isolation had not been shown to be a contributing factor.

Goodwin countered that the Crown was taking a hard line by disregarding mitigating factors, including remorse, rehabilitation, and mental health. He said the only way to justify a four-year prison term was to ignore all such considerations, which was not the reality of the case.

Justice MacGillivray has reserved his decision.