The Delhi High Court will hear the city police’s appeal against Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor, who received a clean chit in relation to the mysterious passing of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.
The case is listed before Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma.
A trial court exonerated Tharoor of the allegations of abetment to the suicide of his wife in August 2021, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to convict the lawmaker and that there was also no evidence that he had done anything to help his wife commit suicide, which is believed to have been the cause of her death.
According to the court, the evidence presented by the prosecution was “wholly or utterly insufficient,” which established the grounds for discharge.
It stated that, even on the surface, there is no evidence to suggest that Tharoor intentionally exposed Pushkar to mental abuse to the point where she would commit suicide.
It stated that none of the medical review boards had determined the death was the result of suicide.
Additionally, the charge sheet was submitted in the hopes that the court may discover enough evidence to move on with the trial; however, criminal proceedings require proof.
“Undoubtedly, a valuable life was lost. However, the court had stated that the accused cannot be forced to go through the rigours of a criminal trial because there aren’t any specific allegations or enough evidence to identify the elements of the various offences or on the basis of which the court could, at this point, presume that the accused had committed the offense.
On the evening of January 17, 2014, Pushkar was discovered dead in a suite at a five-star hotel. The police immediately sealed the room and filed an FIR. Due to renovations taking place in Tharoor’s official residence, the couple was staying at the hotel.
Months before general elections, the issue soon made national news and ignited a political scuffle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party’s main rival, and the then-ruling Congress party.
On January 1st, 2015, Delhi Police filed their first FIR against an unidentified person. Six people, including the minister’s assistant and staff, were subjected to a polygraph test, and Tharoor and other individuals were questioned.
On May 15, 2018, the Delhi Police filed a 3,000-page charge sheet against Tharoor under Indian Penal Code sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband subjecting women to cruelty) and 306 (abetting suicide) (IPC). The maximum penalty for the offence is ten years in prison.