The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Delhi Police to reply to a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the death of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar.
A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and A.M. Khanwilkar issued a notice to the police on Dr. Swamy’s plea. However, the court left the question on maintainability of the petition open.
In the previous hearing, the apex court had asked Dr. Swamy to address the Bench on his locus standi to seek such a probe.
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‘Unnatural death’
Dr. Swamy had argued that it was in public interest to learn the truth behind the death. He submitted that he had filed many petitions in public interest involving politicians, including former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The BJP leader argued that it took the Delhi Police a whole year to even lodge a first information report (FIR).
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“The autopsy report says it was an unnatural death. The FIR says it was a murder. Nothing has been done,” Dr. Swamy submitted.
He has challenged a decision of the Delhi High Court on October 26, 2017, rejecting his plea for an SIT probe.
The High Court had rejected his plea terming it a “textbook example of a political interest litigation”.
Dr. Swamy had alleged that the police had “botched up” the investigation and accused Mr. Tharoor of “interfering” in the investigation. However, the High Court had rejected them as “sweeping allegations” made without any basis.
Ms. Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a five-star hotel in Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014.
Dr. Swamy submitted that her death coincided with an investigation into the Indian Premier League.