New Delhi, February 4: The Patiala House Court on Monday sent Sunanda Pushkar death case to a sessions court where the trial against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on abetment to suicide and cruelty charges will begin from February 21. The Delhi court also dismissed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking to assist the court in the investigation of the Sunanda Pushkar death case.

Shashi Tharoor, former union minister and Pushkar’s husband, has been charged under sections 498-A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306  (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal sent the case to Additional Sessions Judge Arun Bhardwaj since the offence under Section 306 was triable by a sessions judge.

Tharoor, who has been arrested, has dismissed the charges as 'preposterous'. He is facing a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment if found guilty. The court also directed Delhi police to preserve the vigilance report in the Sunanda Pushkar death case. Kumbh Mela 2019: BJP Accuses Shashi Tharoor of Insulting Hinduism by ‘Ridiculing’ the World’s Biggest Congregation.

Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple were staying in the hotel as the official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at that time.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2019 06:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).