Jiah Khan Suicide Case: Sooraj Pancholi acquited of abetment charges

Due to paucity of evidence, this court can't hold Sooraj Pancholi guilty, hence acquitted, informed Judge AS Sayyed

By Abhilasha Last updated Apr 28, 2023 0

Mumbai: A special CBI court on Friday acquitted Sooraj Pancholi of abetment charges in the Jiah Khan suicide case.

He was accused of allegedly abetting the actress’ 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.

Bollywood actress Jiah Khan committed suicide on June 3, 2013. After a handwritten letter was recovered from her Mumbai apartment, her then-boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi was accused of abetting her suicide. He was arrested by the Mumbai Police but was soon released on bail.

The CBI claimed the note narrated her “intimate relationship, physical abuse and mental and physical torture” allegedly at the hands of Sooraj Pancholi, which led to her commit suicide.

The case was reassigned to a special CBI court in 2021 after the sessions court said it did not have jurisdiction over the case as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had probed it.

The Bombay High Court last year dismissed her petition seeking a fresh probe into Jiah Khan’s suicide case. During her deposition, Rabia Khan had told the CBI court Pancholi used to subject Jiah Khan to physical and verbal abuse.

Sooraj Pancholi, in his 313-page statement filed before the court, had claimed the investigation and chargesheet were false.