Sunanda Pushkar death case hearing adjourned till Dec 20

A Delhi Court on Thursday adjourned hearing in the Sunanda Pushkar death case till December 24.

On December 10, the Court deferred the order on two applications of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking direction to the Delhi Police to produce a report of a vigilance inquiry conducted after Pushkar's death and also to assist the prosecution in the case.

The Court's order came after Congress leader and Pushkar's husband Shashi Tharoor's counsel Vikas Pahwa and the public prosecutor opposed Swamy's application.

Pahwa had challenged the locus standi of Swamy saying that he is a stranger to the proceedings and cannot be permitted to participate in the criminal trial in any manner. The public prosecutor also vehemently objected to the application asserting that the Delhi Police does not want any assistance from Swamy.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a Delhi hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple was staying in the hotel as their house was undergoing renovation.

Tharoor was summoned by the Court in June this year, observing there was sufficient ground to proceed against him.

The Congress leader was charged under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He, however, dismissed the charge sheet terming it "preposterous".