After a long wait of almost 10 years, a specialized Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai finally announced its decision in the matter concerning the demise of popular Bollywood actress Jiah Khan. According to reports from Hindustan Times and NDTV, the verdict scheduled to declared on April 28, 2023.
On June 3, 2013, Jiah Khan discovered deceased in her Mumbai residence. The Mumbai Police filed charges against the actor under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and detained him after retrieving a letter on June 10, 2013, supposedly authored by Jiah. Sooraj, who is the son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, purportedly romantically involved with Jiah. Rabia Khan, Jiah’s mother, accuses her daughter killed by him.
In October 2013, Rabia approached the Bombay High Court requesting a CBI investigation into the case. She alleged that her daughter was in an abusive relationship with Sooraj and that the couple had started dating in September 2012. Following the directive of the Bombay High Court, the CBI took over the investigation from the Maharashtra Police in July 2014.
Sooraj accused of abetting Jiah’s suicide, has acquitted of all charges by the CBI court. The case was based on a six-page letter, supposedly written by Jiah. She had accused Sooraj of physically and mentally torturing her, leading to her tragic death. The letter contained details of their intimate relationship, physical abuse, and mental torture in the letter. If convicted under IPC Section 306, Sooraj could have faced a prison sentence of up to ten years. However, the verdict has declared him innocent of the charges brought against him.
In 2021, the case transferred to a specialized CBI court as the sessions court lacked jurisdiction, given the CBI’s investigation. Rabia, the victim’s mother, accused the police and CBI of failing to gather sufficient legal evidence for Jiah’s suicide. Sooraj, in his concluding statement before the court, alleged that the investigation and chargesheet are fabricated. He also claimed that prosecution witnesses had given false testimony at the behest of Rabia, the police, and the CBI.
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