Lawmaker Cleared In Wife’s Suicide Case

An Indian court on Wednesday cleared prominent politician and former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor of abetment to suicide and other charges linked to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in 2014.

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel in the Indian capital on the night of January 17, 2014, following which Tharoor was charged with abetment to suicide and cruelty in marriage.

Tharoor in a statement posted on Twitter thanked the judge for discharging him of charges levied by the Delhi Police which he has consistently described as preposterous.

Tharoor’s lawyer Vikas Pahwa said the court had dismissed the charges citing lack of evidence.

“All the reports of various medical boards, including psychological autopsy reports, exonerated Dr Shashi Tharoor from the charges of homicide or suicide,” Pahwa said.

Police first claimed Pushkar was poisoned and had opened a murder investigation without naming any suspect. Her death was subsequently treated as suicide.

Tharoor, who quit the UN to join politics in 2007, married Pushkar in 2010. The couple frequently featured in the society pages of the Indian press.

Describing the time since his wife’s death as “a long nightmare,” Tharoor said: “I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained in my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated.

“In our justice system, the process is too often the punishment,” he stated.