No urgency to intervene in Sunanda death probe: HC

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday refused urgent hearing of a plea seeking its intervention in the ongoing investigation of the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said let the matter come before the Chief Justice next Wednesday. The bench comprising Delhi High Court's Chief Justice G.Rohini did not assemble Wednesday.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by NGO Anti Corruption Front, said as the investigating agency was biased in probing the case, there was no positive and constructive development in the case.

In such a situation, there was cause and reason for the interference of the court into the ongoing investigation.

Filing the plea through advocates Deepak Prakash and Subhas Chandra, the NGO said police had registered an FIR almost a year after the incident, despite clear guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and high courts that on receiving information disclosing commission of a cognizable offence, the police should register an FIR without any delay.

"In the present matter, police registered an FIR almost after 342 days of the occurrence of the crime," the plea said.

It added that Pushkar died under mysterious circumstance, her body carried more than 10 injury marks and the reason for the death was mentioned as poisoning.

"Even the investigating agency found it is a clear case of murder but till date it is in dark. Even a long one year passed after the incident occurred in a five star hotel of the capital, no convincing conclusion has come out with regard to the accused persons who planned and executed the murder," the PIL stated.

Delhi Police have constituted a special investigative team to probe the death of Pushkar after registering an FIR in the case Jan 1 following Pushkar's third autopsy report by the AIIMS medical board.

Police Monday questioned Tharoor, a former UN diplomat and union minister in the previous Manmohan Singh-led government.

The plea filed against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), home ministry and Delhi Police said: "Police commissioner is duty bound to explain the reasons for such a serious dereliction of duty and lapses on the part of his department in not registering an FIR in a case of death of a lady within seven years of her marriage in mysterious circumstances."

Saying there was no credibility for the ongoing investigation, the plea said that the accused in the case are very powerful and influential people, having the capacity to influence police.

"The facts of the case indicate that the top police officials were influenced and the accused have succeeded in their efforts by keeping the present case in cold storage for a period of one year. So, the investigation of the case has not been proceeding in the proper direction. If the present investigation is continuing in this manner, no truth would come out," the plea said.

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel here Jan 17, 2014. Police have said she was poisoned.