New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in connection with the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in a hotel. Special Judge Geetanjali Goel passed this order while hearing through video conference. Expressing gratitude to the judge, Tharoor said that the last seven-and-a-half years have been spent in “torture” and the verdict has brought a “huge relief”. The police had urged the court to frame charges on various charges, including section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code, while senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, told the court that the SIT’s probe would not help the political leader. absolves him of all charges leveled against him.
Let’s take a look at the whole incident till now and know when what happened till now…
January 16, 2014: Sunanda Pushkar argues with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over her alleged affair with Shashi Tharoor on Twitter.
January 17, 2014: Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the Leela Palace Hotel in Delhi. Due to his medical history, suspicions of suicide and drug overdose were raised.
January 19, 2014: Multiple reports said that doctors who conducted Pushkar’s post-mortem revealed that he had a dozen bruises on his hands and scratches on his cheeks. He said that there was a “nominal” anti-anxiety drug alprazolam present in his body and there was “no sign of drug overdose”.
January 21, 2014: The sub-divisional magistrate leading the investigation says that Pushkar died of poisoning.
23 January 2014: Investigation handed over to Crime Branch of Delhi Police. On the same day, traces of anti-anxiety and anti-depression medicine were found in his body.
25 January 2014: Case transferred back to Delhi Police.
July 2, 2014: AIIMS doctor Sudhir Gupta, who headed the panel that conducted Pushkar’s postmortem, alleges that he was being pressured to change the autopsy report.
30 September 2014: AIIMS doctor submits viscera report to Delhi Police.
January 1, 2015: The then Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi concludes that Pushkar’s death was not a suicide but a homicide. Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown people under section 302 (murder).
January 15, 2015: Delhi Police receives advice from AIIMS Medical Board on US FBI lab report on Pushkar’s viscera samples to determine the cause of death.
November 2015: Delhi Police seeks help from journalist Nalini Singh. Singh was reportedly one of the last people to speak to Pushkar. According to the Indian Express, Pushkar had allegedly sought Singh’s help in securing the chatting between Tharoor and Tarar.
February 2016: Tharoor was questioned by a Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police. During this, he claimed that Pushkar had died of a drug overdose.
March 2016: After coming to Delhi, Tarar met a senior official and denied any information related to Pushkar’s death.
July 2017: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy reaches Delhi High Court for SIT probe into Sunanda Pushkar’s death.
October 26, 2017: High Court dismisses Swamy’s petition, calling his PIL an example of ‘political interest litigation’.
January 2018: Swamy moves Supreme Court seeking an SIT probe, alleging that Delhi Police was delayed by a year in registering an FIR in the case.
February 2018: Supreme Court seeks response from Delhi Police on Swamy’s plea.
April 2018: Delhi Police says the final report has been drafted after conducting a ‘thorough professional and scientific investigation’ in the case.
May 2018: Delhi Police files charge sheet in the case.
May 2018: Case transferred to the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
May 2018: Court reserves order on summoning Tharoor as an accused in this case.
June 2018: Court summons Tharoor as an accused in Sunanda Pushkar case, says there are sufficient grounds to proceed against him.
August 2019: Delhi Police urges a city court to try the Congress MP ‘as an alternative’ on charges of abetment to suicide or murder in connection with the death of his wife.
February 2020: Delhi High Court seeks response from the AAP government on Tharoor’s plea that police be directed to produce before the trial court some of his wife’s tweets before her death in 2014. Tharoor claimed that his wife’s tweet can tell about his state of mind.
June 2020: Tharoor approaches the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the police to take steps to preserve the tweets and Twitter accounts made by his wife before her death.
August 2021: Delhi court acquits Tharoor of all charges.
