New Delhi: Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Wednesday allowed Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, accused in his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death case, to travel abroad.
The court, however, has directed Tharoor to furnish a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of Rs 2 lakh before the court, which would be refunded after his return.
The Court had earlier said that Tharoor would not be allowed to travel abroad without prior permission.
Tharoor, who has been charged for “abetment to suicide and cruelty” in the case, was earlier asked to appear before the court on July 7. The court after going through the charge-sheet filed by the SIT took cognizance and said that there is ‘enough grounds to proceed against Tharoor’.
Earlier on May 24, the Delhi court, which was hearing the case, transferred the matter to the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), Samar Vishal.
On May 14, the Delhi Police had filed a charge sheet 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).
In a nearly 3,000-page charge sheet, 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.
Tharoor, however, had dismissed the charge sheet as “preposterous”. Sunanda was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.
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 has mentioned that Pushkar was allegedly subjected to mental as well as physical cruelty.
