Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma's order comes after the hotel had moved the court seeking the de-sealing of the suite which has been lying closed since January 17, 2014.
In a setback for the Delhi police, a district court on Friday directed to de-seal the suite where Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead. The court stated that, "the hotel cannot be put to unending hardship and loss due to the lethargy on the part of the investigating team."
Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma's order comes after the hotel had moved the court seeking the de-sealing of the suite which has been lying closed since January 17, 2014.
"The room should be de-sealed within four weeks from today. The investigation agency shall be at liberty to visit the suite before filing the compliance report regarding the de-sealing of the suite," the judge said in the order.
The court found that the contention on the part of Hotel Leela for the de-sealing of the room for sanitary and cleanliness purposes appeared to be "reasonable." It said that the room should be opened within four weeks from Friday.
"The hotel cannot be put to unending hardship and loss due to the lethargy on the part of the investigation team. Further, no reasonable ground has been put forth by the (police) team for further lockage of the suite. In the name of investigation, it cannot be locked forever," the judge said in its order.
The court also directed the Delhi police to file a compliance report by August 19 in this regard thereby permitting them to take the articles lying inside the suite with due care for the purpose of investigation. It further observed that if the investigating authorities cannot complete the probe due to some exceptional circumstances, then they can approach the court by application for further extension of time with an advance notice to Hotel Leela.
In the last hearing, the court had sought a status report from the police officials on the investigation.
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in the room on January 17, 2014 and even after three years, no chargesheet has been filed.
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