Shashi Tharoor was granted interim bail today over his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s suicide case. On Thursday the Patiala House Court granted the bail for Rs. 1 lakh and under the condition the Congress Minister does not leave the Country.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar reserved the order for the bail plea yesterday. Tharoor was also sent a summons as the main accused in the death case and will appear in Court on the 7th of July.
The Delhi Police opposed the bail plea stating the Minister would take the opportunity to flee the country. The police claim releasing Tharoor would result in tampering of the investigation. They stated Tharoor is an influential personality who has the power to turn the table in his favor.
Sunanda was found dead in Delhi at a five star hotel in 2014. Tharoor a parliamentarian from Kerala is accused of treating his wife with cruelty.
He has been charged under the IPC Section 306 (Abetment of Suicide) and Section 498A (Cruelty by Husband or Relatives.)
Mr. Tharoor denied the charges calling them preposterous. The Congress supported their MP and stated it was a politically motivated charge sheet. The charge sheet filed contains about 300 pages and names only Tharoor as an accused.
Section 498A can send Tharoor to prison for three years but Section 306 is a much more serious crime. If proven guilty, Tharoor will face a maximum of 10 years for abetting suicide.
The public prosecutor Atul Kumar Shrivastava listed the charges to the Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh. While filing the charge sheet Shrivastava asked Singh to summon the MP in Court. The hearing will be held on the 24th of May. The Court will send the case to a special court for parliamentarians after the hearing.
Sunanda Pushkar was 51 when she was found dead in a hotel suite a day after she publicly called her husband out on having an affair. Initially, the police stated Sunanda was poisoned and registered a murder case. However, the police now stated they have no proof of murder but confirm Sunanda was driven to suicide.
