In July 2013, the Mumbai Police arrested Sooraj Pancholi on charges of aiding a suicide, a month after the death of actress and model Jiah Khan.
However, on Friday, a Mumbai court acquitted Pancholi of the charges related to Khan’s 2013 suicide, after the case was reserved for judgment on April 20. The special judge AS Sayyad delivered the verdict today, citing a lack of evidence to support the charges against Pancholi.
Khan’s mother, Rabia Khan, discovered her hanging from the ceiling on June 3, 2013, with a 6-page letter detailing her tumultuous relationship with Pancholi allegedly found at the scene. Pancholi was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on July 1, 2013.
Rabia Khan, the mother of Jiah Khan, filed a petition with the Bombay High Court requesting the transfer of the investigation into her daughter’s death to a special investigation team (SIT) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Rabia claimed that her daughter was murdered and did not commit suicide. The High Court agreed and transferred the investigation to the CBI in 2014. The case was then heard by a special CBI judge, with the trial commencing in March 2019.
The CBI filed a chargesheet in December 2015 and charged Pancholi under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code for abetting suicide. In January 2023, Sooraj Pancholi’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, filed a petition with the special court to speed up the trial by summoning witnesses.
Pancholi’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, contended that the trial was causing Pancholi hardship due to the CBI only producing fourteen witnesses since 2014.
On January 21, 2023, the trial was expedited when two investigating officers and an expert witness were scheduled to testify.
