Shashi Tharoor applies for anticipatory bail in Sunanda Pushkar case days before his trial in Patiala House Court

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday moved a Delhi court seeking anticipatory bail in the case related to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in which he has already been summoned as an accused. The politician’s plea was filed before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who sought Delhi Police’s response and kept it for hearing on 8 July. The Delhi Police had named the Thiruvananthapuram MP as an accused in the case, charged him with abetment of suicide, after which a Delhi court took cognisance of the chargesheet and summoned him to the trial on 7 July. [caption id=“attachment_4653421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Shashi Tharoor. PTI[/caption] In his plea filed through advocate Vikas Pahwa, Tharoor said the chargesheet has been filed without arrest and the SIT (special investigation team) has categorically stated that investigation has been concluded and no custodial interrogation is required. “The law is very clear that if the charge sheet is filed without arrest the bail is inevitable. We have only requested for protection so that we appear in the court on July 7,” Pahwa said. The Special Investigation Team “categorically stated” in its chargesheet that the inquiry was completed, and “no custodial interrogation of any person is required”. The matter will be heard on 8 July at 10 am as the prosecutor was not present in the court today, Pahwa said. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, who had summoned Tharoor to the trial, had said there was sufficient grounds to proceed in the case against him. Besides abetment of suicide, the Congress leader was also charged with cruelty. “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,” the court had said. Tharoor had called the Delhi Police's chargesheet "preposterous" and said he intends to contest it “vigorously”. “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,” he had said in a statement. Pushkar was found dead in the Leela Palace Hotel in Delhi on the night of 17 January, 2014. With inputs from PTI.