Delhi court asks police to hand over papers to Shashi Tharoor regarding Sunanda Pushkar’s death

A court in New Delhi on Thursday directed Delhi Police to hand over some documents to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in connection with a case against him pertaining to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death around four years ago in a luxury hotel in the Capital.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal issued the directions after senior advocate Vikash Pahwa, appearing for the politician, told the court that some of the documents the agency gave were not readable, while many pages were missing.

The documents were filed by police along with the charge sheet. The court also granted Tharoor exemption from personal appearance for the day after an application was moved by his counsel in this regard.

The court, thereafter, posted the matter for further hearing on October 4.

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.

The court had directed the Delhi Police to hand over various documents filed along with the charge sheet, including statements of witnesses, to Tharoor on a plea moved by him.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP was granted regular bail by court on July 7 after he appeared before court in pursuance to the summons issued against him.

The court had on June 5 summoned Tharoor, observing there was sufficient ground to proceed against him.

Tharoor has been charged under sections 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but has not been arrested in the case.