Sunanda Pushkar with Shashi Tharoor (File Photo)
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday got some relief in the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar as a Delhi court granted him bail. The Patiala House Court said that there was no need for Tharoor to file a formal bail plea as he had already been given anticipatory bail.
On July 5, the court granted anticipatory bail to Tharoor in connection with the case and he was asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh in this regard. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Sunanda Pushkar's mysterious death had opposed Tharoor's anticipatory bail plea.
During the hearing, the public prosecutor and Tharoor's counsels opposed the applications moved by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy seeking the court's nod to allow him to assist the prosecution in the case and a direction to the police to produce the report of vigilance inquiry conducted earlier.
Tharoor's counsels questioned Swamy's locus standi in the case.The court has set July 26 as the date for the scrutiny of documents and consideration of the application.
On May 14, the Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet in the court, in which it named Tharoor as an accused, under sections 306 (Abetment of suicide) and 498A (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.
(With inputs from agencies)
