[Sunanda Pushkar death case] Delhi Court (again) adjourns pronouncement of judgment on framing of charges against Shashi Tharoor

A Delhi court on Friday adjourned its verdict on the question of whether charges should be framed against Congress politician, Shashi Tharoor in the criminal case concerning the death of his wife, Sunanda Pushkar. (State vs Shashi Tharoor).This is the second time the court of Special Judge Geetanjali Goel is adjourning the pronouncement. .The Rouse Avenue Court had first posted it for judgment on June 16 but had then deferred it for today.The Court had earlier reserved judgment in the matter on April 12. .[Sunanda Pushkar death case] Delhi Court adjourns judgment pronouncement to July 2 on framing of charges against Shashi Tharoor.The case concerns a First Information Report (FIR) that was registered by the Delhi Police after Pushkar was found dead in her suite at a five-star hotel situated in New Delhi in January 2014.The Delhi Police had pressed for framing of charges under Section 498A (cruelty) and 306 (abetment to suicide) or alternatively under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.Special Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava appeared for the State whereas Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa appeared for Tharoor.As per the Prosecution, Pushkar was a completely healthy person and the cause of her death was poisoning due to the consumption of Alprazolam.Pushkar, according to the Prosecution, was subjected to mental cruelty by her husband on account of the several controversies surrounding his alleged extramarital relationship..As far as the framing of alternative charge under Section 302 IPC was concerned, SPP Srivastava stated that medical experts had "not ruled out" the possibility of Alprazolam being injected to Pushkar while saying that it was orally administered.While Srivastava argued that the Prosecution was "doing its best" and the truth would come out "when person is in the dock", Judge Goel had questioned if the prosecution can be based on "if, may, but"."Something has to be established..they are saying may have been injected. Can prosecution be based on supposition?" she had asked during an earlier hearing..The Court had also noted that the quantity of the drug or even its tentative quantity which could have caused poisoning or its impact on age of the consumer had not come on record.The Prosecution had urged the Court to frame charges against Tharoor based on the prima facie existence of a case for trial in terms of Section 221 of CrPC..Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa argues before Delhi Court in favour of Shashi Tharoor's discharge in Sunanda Pushkar case.Senior Advocate Pahwa, on the other hand, asserted that there was no definite opinion on Pushkar's cause of death.He also pointed out that as per the CFSL report, which was not being relied upon by the Prosecution, the drug in question was not found in Pushkar's blood.