Jiah Khan case verdict: Sooraj Pancholi acquitted of suicide abetment charges

On Friday, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai gave its verdict in connection with the death of actor Jiah Khan. Actor Sooraj Pancholi, accused of abetting Jiah Khan’s suicide, was acquitted int he case. He was at the CBI court, when the verdict was declared. Also read: Jiah Khan’s mother trying to delay trial by insisting it was murder case, says court

“Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted,” said judge AS Sayyed of special CBI court in Mumbai.

Jiah, who was best known for starring in Nishabd opposite Amitabh Bachchan, was found dead at her home in Mumbai on June 3, 2013. She was 25. Based on a letter seized a week later, purportedly written by her, Mumbai Police had booked Sooraj Pancholi under section 306 (abetment to suicide) and he was arrested. In the letter she had allegedly spoken about her troubled relationship with Sooraj, and said she was physically and mentally abuse by him.

Even though Sooraj’s bail plea was rejected by a Mumbai court, it was on July 1, 2013 that he was granted bail after he signed a bond of ₹50,000. On July 2, the court acquitted Sooraj Pancholi, and said he was not accountable for Jiah Khan’s suicide. Not happy with the court’s judgement, the late actor’s mother Rabia Khan requested the court for a thorough and detailed investigation. Around a year after Jiah Khan’s death, the Bombay High Court transferred the case from Mumbai Police to the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI).

In her testimony before the special CBI court, Rabia Khan had reiterated her claim that her daughter was murdered by her boyfriend at the time, Sooraj Pancholi. Jiah Khan’s mother also had said that her daughter was suffering from depression. Post the case being transferred to the CBI, Sooraj’s father, actor Aditya Pancholi, filed a ₹100 crores defamation case against Rabia Khan.

Last year, Rabia had filed a fresh appeal in the Bombay High Court to reopen the nine-year-old case, alleging errors in the prior investigation conducted by the CBI. However, the Bombay High Court had dismissed the petition filed by Rabia. In her plea, Rabia had alleged that her daughter was murdered and sought a fresh probe into the case by an independent and special agency with assistance from the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).