Sunanda Pushkar death case: Shashi Tharoor calls charges “preposterous, baseless”

The cause of Sunanda Pushkar's death was poisoning. A total of 27 tablets of Alprax were found in her room but it was not clear how many she had consumed.

Former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor with his late wife Sunanda Pushkar (Photo: PTI/File)

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on July 7 as an accused in his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death case. The court asked him to appear before it on July 7, saying there were sufficient grounds to proceed against him. Taking cognisance of the offences of alleged abetment of suicide and committing cruelty by Tharoor towards Pushkar, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal 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." Reacting to the summon, Tharoor dubbed the charges against him as "preposterous and baseless" and the product of a malicious and vindictive campaign against him that he will vigorously contest. In a statement, he said he maintains steadfast conviction that ultimately the truth will prevail through the judicial system. "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 steadfast conviction that ultimately the truth will prevail through the judicial system that we are privileged to have in our country," he said. He, however, refused to speak further and urged the media to respect his and his family's right to privacy as 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," he said. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said it has "professionally" investigated the charges against Tharoor and will defend them in court. 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. The police 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 as one of the key witnesses in the case. Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel room on the night of January 17, 2014. Tharoor 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. (With inputs from PTI)