The prosecution wanted the court to frame murder charges against Shashi Tharoor based on an injection prick found on the arm of his wife Sunanda Pushkar but the court found that the mark was due to putting a cannula at KIMS, Trivandrum during the treatment of the deceased a few days before her death.
In a detailed order discharging Tharoor from any role in the death of his wife, the court judgment has noted that the entire premise of the police booking Tharoor for murder in an FIR was the presence of the injection mark that made police presume poison could have been injected. A charge-sheet was ultimately filed on charges of abetment to suicide and harassment but the prosecution argued in court that as it was doubtful whether the case was a homicide or a suicide, the court should frame charges under all the offences, including murder, on Tharoor.
“The reason why the investigation was proceeding on the premise that it could be a homicidal death was the presence of injection mark. However, the Medical concluded that the prick was due to putting a cannula at KIMS, Trivandrum during the treatment of the deceased,” the court judgment has noted. Court said this stood substantiated by the documents of treatment of Pushkar at KIMS, Trivandrum and the declaration addressed by Lt. Col. Chandrika T.G., Group Coordinator Nursing SBU, KIMS Hospital, Trivandrum that as per their records, a cannula size 20 g was inserted on Pushkar’s hand on January 14, 2014.
“It was also mentioned that the cannula was only inserted once and that the same was removed at the time of discharge, the same day afternoon,” the court said, adding it is next to impossible to prick the skin precisely over an existing prick so as to remain undetected. The court said even the Psychological Autopsy Report referred to the Forensic Reports and mentioned that the injection mark injury on the right hand dorsum was due to the cannula left by the KIMS as admitted by Hospital Authorities, KIMS, Kerala. The said Report also stated that it was unlikely that the cause of death in this case could be homicide, the court said.
No One Confirmed It Was Suicide
The judgment says that none of the Medical Boards had confirmed that the death was a suicide. “The AIIMS Autopsy Board had maintained that the cause of death was poisoning and due to excessive ingestion of Alprazolam. It had not stated about the death being homicidal or suicidal or accidental.
The Board constituted by the Director General of Health Services had also stated that no definite opinion could be given in this regard. The Psychological Autopsy Board in the first Report had stated that the death was not homicide or suicide while in its second report had stated that the deceased had suicidal ideations but did not state that it was a suicide nor there is any other material to confirm the same,” the judgment says. It says Tharoor had never intended or acted in a manner which under normal circumstances would drive Pushkar to commit suicide.
“There is no allegation of any demand of dowry and harassment by Tharoor and there is nothing, even prima facie to show that he had subjected the deceased to physical cruelty. Even if the case of the prosecution is taken on its face value that the accused had an affair and the deceased was distressed, agitated, upset and mentally disturbed, in the absence of anything further, it cannot be said that the same would amount to mental cruelty,” the judgment says.
Alleged Affair Does Not Mean Abetment
The court said it is the settled law that marital disputes cannot be taken as abetment if suicide results therefrom. “Much emphasis was laid on the accused allegedly having an affair. While it may be reiterated that the statements of the witnesses show that the deceased was agitated, distressed, felt betrayed and cheated due to the alleged affair of the accused, the prosecution has not brought anything on record to show that the accused had provoked, incited or induced the deceased to commit suicide,” the judgement says.
The court said there is nothing to demonstrate any overt act on the part of Tharoor and only on the ground that he continued the alleged affair (even if it is assumed) and exchanged messages with her, it cannot be presumed that he had abetted the commission of suicide by Pushkar.
“The prosecution has not been able to point out even one instance where the accused had done something purposefully which facilitated the commission of the offence. The prosecution argued that the accused had continued the affair despite his assurance not to continue the same and this showed willful misrepresentation and instigation by misrepresentation. However, there is no merit in this contention as even as per the case of the prosecution, the accused took steps to hide his alleged affair. There is nothing on record to show that the accused did some act in order to irritate or annoy the deceased until she reacted or strongly persuaded or advised the deceased to do some act with the intention to provoke, incite, urge or encourage the latter to commit suicide,” the court judgment has noted.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment