Tharoor moves Delhi Court to prevent chargesheet from being made public

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday filed an application before the Patiala House Court to restrain the Delhi police from supplying the copy of the chargesheet to any third person or stranger, in connection with the case of his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death.

In his petition, Tharoor said he wanted a "fair trial".

He further claimed that there has been "misreporting" and "spreading of false information" regarding him and alleged that it would subvert the legal process.

After Tharoor's plea, the Delhi Court issued a notice to the police.

Senior Advocate, Vikas Pahwa, counsel for Tharoor said, "We filed a fresh application on behalf of Tharoor before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Samar Vishal today seeking urgent directions submitting that there is a widespread dissemination of false information in public which is affecting his constitutional right to Fair Trial, Right to Privacy and Right to remain silent."

"The ACMM has issued a notice to Delhi police and in the meantime restrained them from supplying, disclosing, sharing the chargesheet and supporting documents to any third person or a stranger without the permission of the court. The court has stated that the uninformed and speculative pre-trial publicity of the case shall present an unmanageable threat to these important rights," he added.

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).

Tharoor, however, had dismissed the chargesheet filed 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.