Delhi Police moves HC against Shashi Tharoor's discharge in Sunanda Pushkar death case, court issues notice
In August 2021, a trial court discharged Tharoor from charges of abetment to suicide of his wife, while saying that there was no material against the legislator, much less any positive act to instigate or aid her in committing suicide, assuming it as the cause of death.
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New Delhi, December 02: Trouble for Shashi Tharoor as the Delhi police on Thursday (December 01) approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court's 2021 order discharging Congress leader in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death case.
In August 2021, a trial court discharged Tharoor from charges of abetment to suicide of his wife, while saying that there was no material against the legislator, much less any positive act to instigate or aid her in committing suicide, assuming it as the cause of death.
The court had held that material produced by the prosecution was “wholly or absolutely insufficient” creating the grounds for discharge. It said that even prima facie, there is nothing to show that Tharoor subjected Pushkar to mental cruelty of such a high degree that would lead to suicide.
Pushkar was found dead in the suite of a luxury hotel on the night of January 17, 2014, following which the police sealed the room and registered an FIR. The couple was staying at the hotel because Tharoor’s official bungalow was being renovated.
The case quickly grabbed national headlines and sparked a political tussle between the then ruling Congress party and its primary challenger, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), months before general elections. Delhi police registered the first FIR on January 1, 2015 against unidentified persons. It questioned Tharoor and others, and conducted a polygraph test on six people, including the minister’s help and staff.
On May 15, 2018, Delhi Police filed a 3,000-page charge sheet against Tharoor was under sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The maximum punishment for the offence is 10 years of imprisonment.
Koradi Temple
Mes, Pune
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