The Patiala House Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police to give possession of the hotel room where Sunanda Pushkar’s body was found to the Leela Palace hotel authorities by October 16, ANI reported. The court also asked the police to file a compliance report on its earlier order to unseal the room. The police have asked for three more days to unseal it.
The Delhi Police has sought more time to keep the room sealed, saying that they were waiting for a forensic report on the samples collected from the room. Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in room 345 of Delhi’s Leela Palace on January 17, 2014.
The court said that if the police do not file the report, a senior police officer will have to appear in person to explain why. Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh listed the matter for further hearing on October 16.
On July 21, the Patiala House Court first ordered the suite be unsealed, saying that the hotel had borne a financial loss because the room was locked for more than three years. On September 21, the Delhi High Court ordered the city police to file the final chargesheet in the case within eight weeks.
The Delhi High Court and the Patiala House Court have repeatedly reprimanded the police for extending the investigation. On September 4, the Patiala court had criticised the police for its “lethargic attitude” in the investigation, and asked the deputy commissioner of police to explain why they should get more time to complete the investigation.
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