New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was on Thursday granted interim bail by a Delhi court in the Sunanda Pushkar death case.

The Patiala court in its verdict granted him bail on a surety of Rs 1 Lakh. Court also ruled that he cannot leave the country without the court's consent.

 Worth mention here Tharoor will appear before the court to apply for regular bail as per the procedure on Saturday.

Delhi police had opposed Tharoor’s bail plea citing that being an influential person, Tharoor may sway witnesses. It also said that he may leave country .

In his plea filed through advocate Vikas Pahwa, Tharoor said the charge sheet has been filed without arrest and the SIT (special investigation team) has firmly stated that inquiry has been concluded and no custodial interrogation is essential.

"The law is very clear that if the charge sheet is filed without arrest the bail is inevitable. We have only requested for protection so that we appear in the court on July 7," Pahwa was quoted by News 18 as saying.

The Congress leader filed his anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday.

On the night of January 17, 2014, Sunanda Pushkar, Tharoor's wife, was found dead in a luxury hotel suite in Delhi.

It is noted that Tharoor has been charged under Sections 498 A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.