Shashi Tharoor was found not guilty in the death of Sunanda Pushkar by a Delhi court

Shashi Tharoor was found not guilty in the death of Sunanda Pushkar by a Delhi court

On 18th August 2021, the Hon’ble Delhi Court cleared Congress leader Shashi Tharoor of all charges in the death of Sunanda Pushkar.

On the night of January 17, 2014, Pushkar was discovered dead in a suite of a fancy hotel in the city. According to the Delhi Police, the main accused in the case is Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar’s husband.

In a virtual hearing in which Tharoor was present, Special Judge Geetanjali Goel issued the order. As she released Tharoor, Goel thanked both sides’ attorneys, telling them that she had learned a lot from the hearing. 

This had been “seven-and-a-half years of absolute anguish,” Tharoor told the court.

Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor was released on bail in the case. The Indian Penal Code’s Sections 498-A (spouse or relative of a woman exposing her to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) were used against him by Delhi Police.

Pushkar has been subjected to mental torture, according to Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava, it was not an accidental death, citing the post mortem report, which indicates that poisoning, either oral or injected, was the cause of death.

She further stated that her health had deteriorated as a result of the mental torture meted out to Pushkar. He went on to say that Pushkar had never had any health problems before, but that troubles began as a result of “stress and betrayal.”

Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, Tharoor’s defence counsel, stated that prosecutors have been unable to show proof against the leader and that the hypothesis of injecting poison is speculative and hence inadmissible.