The city police on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that Congress MP Shashi Tharoor ought to have first gone to the magisterial court that had summoned him as an accused to seek bail in the death case of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.
It concurred with a petition filed by a lawyer challenging the Congress MP’s move to bypass a magisterial court and directly approaching a Sessions Court for anticipatory bail.
Justice R.K. Gauba was hearing a petition filed by Delhi lawyer Deepak Anand challenging a trial court’s July 5 order granting anticipatory bail to Mr. Tharoor in the matter.
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Delhi Police’s Standing Counsel Rahul Mehra said that faith has to be reposed in the trial court and an accused cannot directly approach a higher court bypassing the magisterial court.
Mr. Tharoor, who has also been made a party in the plea, was represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa who also questioned the locus of the petitioner and maintainability of the plea.
The counsel argued that Mr. Tharoor’s apprehension of arrest proved to be right when the police opposed his anticipatory bail plea before the Sessions Court.
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“Delhi Police has not challenged the bail order and the case is also sessions triable,” he said and cited the judgments of the Supreme Court on exercise of power by Sessions Court to grant anticipatory bail.
Mr. Mehra, who was earlier asked by the court to assist in the matter, questioned the locus of the petitioner in filing the petition and said, “I am supporting him provided he proves his locus”.
The court listed the petition for further hearing on October 9.