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LEGAL

Tweets may help resolve for Delhi police.

The police added that
Sunanda murder mystery it was not relying on the
tweets of the victim and
that it had no record related
to the Pushkar’s tweet. The
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tells court that Twitter account of the court will pass order on
deceased was important to check the state of mind before his wife’s Tharoor’s application on
December 12. The former
death, reports tehelka bureau Union minister, who is
currently on bail in the case,
ongress MP data they want to use,” sen- Investigation, it came to the was charged by Delhi Police
Shashi Tharoor ior advocate Vikas Pahwa, notice that the deceased under Sections 498-A and
has requested a appearing for Tharoor, told and her husband were 306 of the Indian Penal
special court to the court. very active on social media. Code.
C direct Delhi Po- He reportedly said that In order to seek relevant Police had told the court
lice to bring on record vari- the ‘Twitter timeline’ of information, call logs, SMS, that Pushkar was suffering
ous tweets made by his wife Pushkar can show her state Twitter, Facebook, BBM etc from mental agony due to a
Sunanda Pushkar, who was of mind before her death. were scanned. Since the strained relationship with
found dead in mysterious “There is a timeline, there material, which is in public her husband. She had a
circumstances in Janu- scuffle with her husband
ary 2014. Tharoor told and had various injury
the court that the Twitter marks few days before
account of the deceased her death, they said.
was important to check Police accused
the state of mind before Tharoor of torturing his
her death. wife which abetted her
The Congress leader, to commit suicide. The
who is made an accused maximum punishment
by the police in the case, for the offence listed in
told Special Judge Ajay the charge sheet is 10
Kumar Kuhar that it does years of imprisonment.
not have the cause of However, if convicted
death till date. “Till 2018, for 302 (murder), the
they didn’t know it (the maximum punishment
reason of death). Then a is death penalty while
new board was formed the minimum is life
(for her autopsy)... They imprisonment.
(police) argued on charge Pushkar’s death had
and the documents were created a sensation as
placed, particularly the it came shortly after a
psychological autopsy bitter spat between the
report, which says suicide are so many tweets which domain, you have it in the couple on Twitter over his
cannot be the cause of can show her mindset. How two phones seized by you, alleged affair with Pakistani
death. Twitter account of can they (police) say this but you won’t rely on it journalist Mehr Tarar. Push-
the deceased is important to is irrelevant... I (Tharoor) because it does not suit you,” kar, 51, was found dead in a
check when we are check- am just saying through my he said. suite of luxury hotel Leela in
ing the state of mind. They application that they should The police, however, op- Delhi’s Chanakyapuri on the
seized three Blackberry produce the documents posed the application term- night of January 17, 2014. The
phones of the deceased on which are in my favour. ing it “vague”. “It is vague couple was staying at the
January 30, 2014. They sent They have mentioned a application. This is a serious hotel as the official bunga-
it to CFSL and asked to pro- conclusion based on a tweet effort by them to not allow low of Tharoor was being
vide WhatsApp, Twitter, Call and today they say they the trial in this case,” said renovated at that time.
Logs, SMS, Images data. They don’t have it. senior public prosecutor
have picked and chosen the “During the course of Atul Srivastava, appearing LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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