Sunanda Pushkar’s death: Delhi HC reserves verdict on restraining Republic TV

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had filed a Rs2-crore civil defamation suit against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV.

The Delhi high court reserved on Tuesday its verdict on Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor’s plea for a restraint order on journalist Arnab Goswami and his television channel from airing any news or debate about his wife’s death.

Shashi Tharoor had filed a plea for a restraint order on Republic TV channel from airing news about his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death. (HT file photo)

He requested the court to stop “misreporting” on wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death, saying his “right to be left alone” and “right to silence” must be respected.

Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel suite in south Delhi on January 17, 2014.

For their part, the journalist and his channel defended the broadcast and said the news item showed evidence and the police report.

Tharoor filed on May 26 a Rs2-crore civil defamation suit against Goswami and Republic TV in the high court.

The MP for Thiruvananthapuram filed an interim application in the defamation suit for stopping the channel from broadcasting any news about Pushkar’s death, which is still being investigated.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Tharoor, said Goswami and his channel should be directed not to mention the expression “murder of Sunanda Pushkar” as no competent court has said so about her death. He also pleaded that the trial shouldn’t be prejudiced.

Goswami and the channel’s lawyer countered that they haven’t “condemned” Tharoor or suggested that he was involved in the death.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi said the Congress leader was not called “the killer” of his wife by the journalist or the channel, as claimed by Tharoor.

After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its order.