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 granted him bail on a surety of Rs 1 Lakh and said that he cannot leave the country without the court's permission.

On Saturday, Tharoor will be appearing before the court and will apply for regular bail as per the procedure, said his lawyer.

Delhi police had opposed his bail plea stating that being an influential person, Tharoor might sway witnesses. It also said that he might flee from justice by flying to a foreign country and settling there.

In his plea filed through advocate Vikas Pahwa, Tharoor said the chargesheet has been filed without arrest and the SIT (special investigation team) has categorically stated that investigation has been concluded and no custodial interrogation is required.

"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 said.

The Congress leader had moved the court on Tuesday, seeking anticipatory bail.

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

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.