Pushkar was found dead on the night of January 17, 2014.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has moved a Delhi court seeking anticipatory bail in the case related to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. Tharoor has already been summoned as an accused in the case on July 7. He has been charged under IPC sections 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide). Under Section 498A, the maximum punishment is up to three years of imprisonment, while jail term can go up to 10 years under Section 306.
The plea was filed Tuesday in the court of Special Judge Arvind Kumar, who sought Delhi Police’s response and posted the matter for Wednesday.
According to the plea, filed through advocate Vikas Pahwa, Tharoor said he has requested for protection so that he could appear before the court on July 7 without the fear of arrest. The plea said that the chargesheet has been filed in May without any arrest and the SIT probe into the case has been concluded without custodial interrogation being required. On July 7, the court is also likely to hear BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s plea to allow him to assist the prosecution in the case.
Pushkar was found dead on the night of January 17, 2014.
On June 5, ACMM Samar Vishal had summoned Tharoor as accused, asking him to appear before the court on July 7 and saying there were sufficient grounds to proceed against him. An FIR was registered by Delhi Police on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons under IPC section 302 (murder).
Swamy has also sought directions to the police to produce the report of the vigilance inquiry conducted earlier on the police’s alleged lapses.