Tharoor in HC to stop TV channel from misreporting wife’s case

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor moved the Delhi High Court on Friday seeking direction to journalist Arnab Goswami and his news channel Republic TV to refrain from “misreporting” the case of his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death.

Tharoor alleged that despite assurance given in the court on May 29 by the counsel for Goswami and the news channel, they were engaged in “defaming and maligning” him.

During the hearing of Tharoor’s ₹ two crore defamation suit against them for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him while airing news relating to the mysterious death of his wife, their counsel had on May 29 said that he will advise his client against it.

Justice Manmohan while hearing the lawsuit had said the journalist and his news channel can put out stories stating the facts related to the investigation of Pushkar's death but cannot call the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram a “criminal”.

Tharoor alleged that despite assurance, immediately after the hearing on May 29 they started their “deliberate and false campaign of misreporting”.

The Congress leader moved an application in his pending lawsuit, seeking direction to the journalist and the news channel that they should not mention the expression “murder of Sunanda Pushkar” anywhere since it is yet to be established by a competent court that her death was “murder” to ensure the trial was not prejudiced.

Tharoor, in his application filed through his counsel Gaurav Gupta, sought the court’s direction to restrain the channel and Goswami from posting or reporting any content which is contrary to the assurance given by their counsel.

Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014. The matter is still under investigation.