Actor Sooraj Pancholi acquitted in Jiah Khan suicide case

Actor Sooraj Pancholi acquitted by Mumbai court in Jiah Khan suicide case

Mumbai: A special CBI court here on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi, accused of abetting the suicide of his then actor girlfriend Jiah Khan in 2013, citing lack of evidence against him. Sooraj Pancholi (32), who is currently out on bail, was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 (abetment of suicide). Jiah Khan’s mother Rabia Khan had been refuting the prosecution’s case that this was a case of suicide and claimed that her daughter was killed.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge A S Sayyad on Friday said due to lack of evidence, the court holds Pancholi not guilty. Below is the timeline of Jiah Khan’s suicide case

On June 3, 2013, Jiah Khan’s body was found in flat number 102 of Sagar Sangeet Society in Mumbai  On June 7, 2013, Mumbai police recovered a six-page suicide note from Jiah’s house.

On June 10, 2013, Sooraj Pancholi was arrested by the Juhu police after allegations of abetting Jiha for suicide. On July 2, 2013, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Suraj Pancholi and he got released after spending 22 days in jail. In October 2013, Jiha’s mother, Rabia Khan, moved to the Bombay High Court demanding a CBI probe.

In July 2014, the case was handed over to the CBI. In December 2015, the CBI submitted a report before the court and termed the case as an abetment to suicide. A few days later, Rabia demanded for an SIT to probe the matter. In February 2017, the High Court rejected the demand for the formation of the SIT.

The trial court also rejected Rabia’s demand for further investigation in 2018. On 15 March 2019, the trial began in the Jiah Khan case.

In the year 2021, the case was reassigned to the Special CBI Court because the sessions court said that the jurisdiction of the CBI case is not with the sessions court.

On March 21, 2023, the government side closed its case with the statement of 21 witnesses.

On April 20, 2023, both sides presented their final arguments after which the court fixed 28 April to announce the verdict.