Shashi Tharoor: “When no truth to an accusation, justice will prevail”

Congress MP for Thiruvananthapuram and former Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has been in the eye of a media storm ever since Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi Samar Vishal took cognisance of the police chargesheet in connection with the suicide of Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar in January 2014. The magistrate found sufficient grounds to proceed against Tharoor for abetment to suicide and cruelty and summoned him as an accused. The 62-year-old parliamentarian has been asked to appear before the court on July 7, the next date fixed for the hearing.

Tharoor, who is presently in London, while in conversation with Krishnan Guru-Murthy of Channel 4 News about his book Why I am a Hindu, also spoke briefly about the court summons.

Guru-Murthy asked Tharoor if he would appear before the court next month. “Of course”, replied the Congress MP, “I’ve been cooperating fully with the 4½ years of investigation and I’ve always maintained that we should have faith in our legal system and our judicial process. I’m very confident that there’s no basis whatsoever for these charges and I intend to absolutely vigorously contest them within the law.”

Guru-Murthy then asked Tharoor why he called into question the motive of the Delhi Police on Twitter in pursuing him first on the question of whether he murdered his wife and now on whether he was involved in pushing her towards suicide. In a statement issued on Twitter on Tuesday, Tharoor had said he had taken notice of the developments in the case, had fully cooperated with the investigating team from the very start and "I would like to reiterate my position that I find the charges preposterous and baseless, the product of a malicious and vindictive campaign against myself. I will continue to vigorously contest these charges and maintain my steadfast conviction that ultimately the truth will prevail".

Shashi Tharoor’s full statement can be read below:

Tharoor replied to Guru-Murthy saying, “I wish I could get into the debate but the fact is that because the case is sub judice, I’ve been instructed by the lawyers that I can’t go beyond the statement which I’ve already issued. I believe these charges are preposterous. I believe there isn’t a shred of truth in either the charge that there was any foul play or any crime was involved in the tragic and premature death of my wife. I want to see justice done but at this point, I can’t enter into the merits of it. It’s a process that has to be gone through before judges and courts.”

Guru-Murthy asked Tharoor if he denied absolutely the suggestion of cruelty. “Nobody ever, neither anybody who has known me for 62 years, nor anybody who is a friend of Sunanda’s, my late wife, nor herself, has ever pointed to or accused me of a single act of cruelty. I’m just not that kind of person. I’m afraid I’ve got a sense of disbelief about some of these charges because those who know me, know the kind of person I am are in a state of disbelief. It’s no accident for example that her only brothers and her only son have stood by me throughout this. They don’t believe a word of what’s being suggested. And I believe ultimately when there is no truth to an accusation, justice will prevail and those charges will fall,” replied Tharoor.

It was pointed out to Tharoor that he had last been interviewed by the same Channel 4 News anchor about the case in 2015, and three years later the case was not only still going on, a court process was just beginning. “Doesn’t that speak for something, that it would have to happen just a few months before an election?”, said Tharoor. Guru-Murthy asked if that’s what Tharoor thought the charges were all about. “As I said I can’t say much more but one looks at certain things and one comes to one’s own conclusions,” replied Tharoor.

Lastly, Guru-Murthy asked Tharoor how he managed to keep working all through while his emails and messages, his late wife’s emails, and leaks from the investigation such as details from the post mortem were splashed all over the newspapers routinely.

“It helps to have a clear conscience. I do,” said Tharoor.

Background of Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor suicide case

Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, 51, was found dead in a hotel suite in Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she reportedly alleged that her husband Shashi Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist. A total of 27 tablets of Alprax were found in her room but it was not clear how many she had consumed. Four and a half years later, on May 14, 2018 Delhi Police chargesheeted 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.

While issuing summons to Tharoor, Magistrate Vishal said "I have gone through and perused the chargesheet along with the documents filed along with it. Cognisance taken on offence regarding abetment to suicide of late Sunanda Pushkar and for committing cruelty upon her. On the basis of the police report, I take cognisance abetment of suicide punishable under 306 IPC and cruelty under 498A IPC. There exists sufficient grounds to proceed against Shashi Tharoor for commission of offence,".

The magistrate also issued notice to the prosecution for a written reply on the application of Subramanian Swamy, an MP from the Congress party’s main political rival BJP who has been carrying on a campaign in the case, for conducting the prosecution.

With IANS inputs.