Delhi court summons Tharoor as accused in Pushkar death case

New Delhi, June 5

A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned Congress leader Shashi Tharoor as an accused in the case related to his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death and asked him to appear before it on July 7, saying there were sufficient grounds to proceed against him.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal took cognisance of the offences of alleged abetment of suicide and committing cruelty by Tharoor towards Pushkar.

"I have heard the prosecutor. I have gone through and perused the charge sheet and the documents filed along with it. On the basis of police report (charge sheet), I take cognisance of offence of abetment of suicide of late Sunanda Pushkar and committing cruelty upon her by Dr Shashi Tharoor," the judge said.

"There exists sufficient grounds to proceed against Tharoor for commission of offences of Section 306 and 498 A of IPC. Issue summons to him for appearance for July 7," the court added.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Tharoor called the allegations  "preposterous and baseless, the product a malicious and vindictive campaign", and asked the press to respect his privacy.

On May 28, the court had reserved its order on whether to summon Tharoor as an accused in the case.

The Delhi Police had on May 14 accused the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram of abetting Pushkar's suicide and told a city court that he should be summoned as an accused in the four-and-half year-old case, claiming there was sufficient evidence against him.

In a nearly 3,000-page charge sheet, the police has named Tharoor as the only accused while also alleging that he had subjected his wife to cruelty. It had also urged the court to summon Tharoor as an accused.

The couple's domestic servant, Narayan Singh, has been named one of the key witnesses in the case.

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel room on the night of January 17, 2014.

The Congress leader has been charged under sections 498 A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

Under Section 498A, the maximum punishment is up to three years of imprisonment, while jail term up to 10 years is prescribed under Section 306.

An FIR was registered by Delhi Police on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons under IPC section 302 (murder).

According to prosecution sources, the chargesheet mentions that Pushkar was allegedly subjected to mental as well as physical cruelty. Tharoor has not been arrested in the case.

Tharoor's statement

The MP's statement has been fully reproduced here.

I have taken notice of the developments in the case being heard by the Hon'ble Judge of the Patiala House Court in relation to the circumstances surrounding the untimely demise of my late wife, Mrs. Sunanda Pushkax Tharoor. As I understand, the court has issued summons against my name and I have been asked to appear before the court on Saturday, 7th July 2018.

I would like to point out that, from the very start, I have fully cooperated with the investigating team and continue to maintain that due legal process must be followed in all aspects related to this case.

I would like to reiterate my position that I find the charges preposterous and baseless, the product of a malicious and vindictive campaign against myself. I will continue to vigorously contest these charges and maintain my steadfast conviction that ultimately the truth will prevail through the judicial system that we are privileged to have in our country.

In the meantime, I would like to request the media to respect my right to privacy as well as that of my family. Given that the matter is sub-judice, I will refrain from commenting on this issue further until such time as the next scheduled hearing of the case.  

Shashi Tharoor