Sunanda case: Tharoor thanks judge, says nightmare is over

Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday that his faith in the judiciary stands vindicated and the ruling of the court brought a ‘significant conclusion to the long nightmare’ after a Delhi court discharged him in a case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death.

Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed the order in a virtual hearing in the case related to Pushkar’s death in a luxury hotel in Delhi.

“I would like to express my humble thanks to Judge Geetanjali Goel for her orders today, discharging me from the charges levied by the Delhi Police, which I have consistently described as preposterous,” Tharoor tweeted after the verdict.

Tharoor said that he had weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently which was sustained by his faith in the Indian judiciary, which stood vindicated today. “In our justice system, the process is all too often the punishment,” he noted.

“Nonetheless, the fact that justice has been done, at last, will allow all of us in the family to mourn Sunanda in peace,” he said.

In his statement, Tharoor also thanked lawyers, particularly Vikas Pahwa and Gaurav Gupta, for all they had done to bring the case to this conclusion.

During the arguments, while police had sought framing of various charges, including Section 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide), senior advocate 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.

Also read: Sunanda Pushkar death case: Delhi court discharges Shashi Tharoor

Pahwa had sought Tharoor’s discharge in the case, saying there was no evidence against him to prove the offence.

On the night of January 17, 2014, Pushkar was found dead in a suite of The Leela Palace in Delhi. 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) as well as 306 of the Indian Penal Code by 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.

(With inputs from Agencies)