Tharoor appears in Delhi court, gets regular bail

Two days after he was granted anticipatory bail, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was given regular bail by a city court here on Saturday in the Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Tharoor personally appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal at the Patiala House Courts following summons issued against him in June.

When Tharoor's counsel moved a plea seeking regular bail, the court said that there was no requirement for filing it as he was already granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court on Thursday.

The magisterial court accepted his bail bonds.

While granting him the anticipatory bail on July 5, the sessions court directed him not to leave the country without permission, nor to tamper with evidence or try to influence the witnesses.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on July 26 directing Delhi Police to supply copy of charge sheet and other documents to the Congress leader.

Meanwhile, Tharoor opposed the application of BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who has been carrying on a campaign in the case, for conducting the prosecution. Tharoor's counsel told the court that Swamy has no locus to contest the case.

On June 5, the court took cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the police.

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

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 a jail term that could extend up to 10 years.

--IANS

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