Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday thanked a Delhi court for discharging him in connection with the Sunanda Pushkar death case and said that the allegations meant “seven and a half years of absolute torture” for him. Tharoor had a case of abetment to suicide and cruelty, against him.

Special Judge Geetanjali Goel pronounced the order at a virtual hearing in which Tharoor was present.

Tharoor later released a statement saying that his faith in the judiciary had been “vindicated” and his “long nightmare” was over.

““This brings a significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda. I have weathered dozens of unfounded acquisitions and media vilification patiently, sustained by my faith in the Indian judiciary, which today stands vindicated,” he said.

Tharoor further said, “In our justice system, the process is all too often the punishment. Nonetheless, the fact that justice has been done, at last, will allow all of us in the family to mourn Sunanda in peace”. He also thanked his lawyers, particularly Vikas Pahwa and Gaurav Gupta.

Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in Delhi on January 17, 2014. The Delhi Police initially registered an FIR against unknown persons on charges of murder, on January 1, 2015. Tharoor was later booked under IPC Sections 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment to suicide).