Actor Sooraj Pancholi has been cleared of the charge of abetting the suicide of actor Jiah Khan by a special CBI court. She died by suicide at her Juhu home on June 3, 2013. Sooraj Pancholi was facing trial for alleged abetment of suicide.
“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.
In his final statement to the court on April 12, 2023, Sooraj Pancholi had said that he had been booked in a false case and that he was the victim of a false prosecution and persecution.
In that statement, he said he had broken down when he heard about Jiah’s death and said, “I had lost the most important person of my life and the woman whom I truly loved.”
Here’s what has happened so far
Jiah Khan, who was best known for working as a lead actor in Nishabd opposite Amitabh Bachchan, was found dead at her home in Mumbai on June 3, 2013. She was 25. The Mumbai police had seized a letter written by her and 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.
On July 1, 2013, Sooraj Pancholi was granted bail after he signed a bond of Rs 50,000. On July 2, the court acquitted Sooraj Pancholi, and said he was not accountable for Jiah Khan’s suicide.
Jia Khan’s mother Rabia Khan was not happy with the court’s judgement and requested the court for a thorough and detailed investigation. After a year of Jiah Khan’s death, the Bombay High Court transferred the case from Mumbai Police to the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI).
Rabia Khan had claimed before the special CBI court that her daughter was murdered by her boyfriend at the time, Sooraj Pancholi. Aditya Pancholi, Sooraj Pancholi’s father filed a Rs 100 crores defamation case against Rabia Khan.
In 2022, Rabia Khan had filed a fresh appeal in the Bombay High Court to reopen the case. She alleged that there are errors in the prior investigation conducted by the CBI. However, the Bombay High Court had dismissed the petition filed by Rabia.
