Sunanda Pushkar case transferred to Sessions court; trial against Shashi Tharoor to begin on 21 February

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday sent Sunanda Pushkar's death case against Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to the Sessions court for further proceedings.Tharoor has been charged under Section 306 (abetment to suicide), which is triable by a Sessions judge. Hence, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal sent the case to the court of Additional Sessions judge Arun Bhardwaj.[caption id="attachment_6023361" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File photo of Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar. Reuters[/caption]The Congress MP has also been charged under Sections 498-A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty), but has not been arrested in the case. The court also directed Delhi police to preserve vigilance report in the matter. The maximum punishment for the offence is 10 years of imprisonment.The court also dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to assist the court in the case, according to reports.Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of 17 January, 2014. The couple were staying in the hotel as the official bungalow of Tharoor was being renovated at that time.With inputs from agencies