HC dismisses plea challenging Tharoor's anticipatory bail

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to cancel an anticipatory bail granted to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

Justice R.K. Gauba rejected the plea.

Tharoor has said the plea was not maintainable because law has granted the right to the accused to move it apprehending arrest and that the sessions court has the power to deal with it.

The court was hearing advocate Deepak Anand's plea for cancelling the anticipatory bail granted by a sessions court on July 5 to Tharoor, who is accused of abetting the suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Delhi Police supported the plea but questioned the petitioner's stand on filing the plea.

The petitioner said the anticipatory bail application of the Congress leader was premature and not maintainable since it was not in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and also in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Citing a top court judgment, Anand said that anticipatory bail plea can only be filed during investigation or prior to investigation but not after the issuance of summons.

On June 5, the trial court had taken cognisance of the police charge-sheet and issued summons to Tharoor.

On May 14, police charge-sheeted Tharoor under Sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to abetment to suicide and cruelty to wife, which entails jail for up to 10 years.

Pushkar, 51, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

--IANS

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