New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday discharged senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel here.
Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing. The detailed order is awaited.
Tharoor thanked the judge, and said it was an absolute torture for last seven-and-a-half-years and that it was a great relief .
During the arguments, while police had sought framing of various charges, including 306 (abetment of suicide), senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, told the court that the investigation conducted by the SIT completely exonerated the politician of all the charges levelled against him.
“It was a long battle of seven years. Ultimately, justice has prevailed. He (Tharoor) had faith in the judicial system right from the beginning. The charges levelled by the police for abetment to suicide and cruelty were absurd and preposterous,” Pahwa said, according to ANI.
Even the most essential ingredients of the offenses were not present in this case. All reports of various medical boards incl Psychological Autopsy Reports exonerated Dr Shashi Tharoor from charges of homicide or suicide. The chargesheet filed was without any basis: Vikas Pahwa
— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2021
Pahwa had sought Tharoor’s discharge in the case, saying there was no evidence against him to prove the offence.
He had earlier told the court that the family and friends of Pushkar have maintained that she couldn’t have died by suicide, and there cannot be abetment charge on this ground.
The maximum punishment for the offence is 10 years of imprisonment.
Pahwa had earlier claimed that post mortem and other medical reports established that it was neither a suicide nor homicide.
Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple was staying in the hotel as the official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at that time.
Tharoor was charged under sections 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi Police, but was not arrested in the case.
Tharoor was granted anticipatory bail in the matter by a Sessions court on July 5, 2018.
Following that order, a magisterial court converted the anticipatory bail into regular bail after he appeared before it on July 7 in pursuance to the summons issued by the Metropolitan Magistrate in the matter.
Also read: Court defers order on framing charges against Shashi Tharoor in Sunanda Pushkar death case