A Mumbai court on Friday acquitted Bollywood starlet Sooraj Pancholi of charges of abetting the suicide of model and actress Jiah Khan in 2013..Special judge AS Sayyad pronounced the verdict today after reserving the case for judgment on April 20. Pancholi has been acquitted due to paucity of evidence..On June 3, 2013, Khan was found hanging from the ceiling by her mother, Rabia Khan. The actress had purportedly written a 6-page letter describing her tumultuous relationship with Pancholi. On the basis of the same, Pancholi was booked for abetment of suicide and arrested by the Mumbai Police. He was released on bail on July 1, 2013 by the Bombay High Court..Khan's mother Rabia then moved the Bombay High Court seeking transfer of the investigation to a special investigation team (SIT) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).She pleaded that her daughter had not died by suicide, but was murdered.In 2014, the High Court transferred the investigation to CBI. Subsequently, the case came to be heard by a special CBI judge. The trial in the case commenced in March 2019. In its chargesheet filed in December 2015, the CBI charged Pancholi with abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code..Pancholi’s lawyer Prashant Patil moved the special court in January 2023 seeking to expedite the trial by summoning the witnesses.He argued that CBI had only produced 14 witnesses and the case had been pending since 2014. He submitted that the delay in trial was causing hardship to Pancholi. The trial was expedited on January 21, 2023 when 3 witnesses remained to be examined – two investigating officers and an expert.
A Mumbai court on Friday acquitted Bollywood starlet Sooraj Pancholi of charges of abetting the suicide of model and actress Jiah Khan in 2013..Special judge AS Sayyad pronounced the verdict today after reserving the case for judgment on April 20. Pancholi has been acquitted due to paucity of evidence..On June 3, 2013, Khan was found hanging from the ceiling by her mother, Rabia Khan. The actress had purportedly written a 6-page letter describing her tumultuous relationship with Pancholi. On the basis of the same, Pancholi was booked for abetment of suicide and arrested by the Mumbai Police. He was released on bail on July 1, 2013 by the Bombay High Court..Khan's mother Rabia then moved the Bombay High Court seeking transfer of the investigation to a special investigation team (SIT) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).She pleaded that her daughter had not died by suicide, but was murdered.In 2014, the High Court transferred the investigation to CBI. Subsequently, the case came to be heard by a special CBI judge. The trial in the case commenced in March 2019. In its chargesheet filed in December 2015, the CBI charged Pancholi with abetment of suicide under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code..Pancholi’s lawyer Prashant Patil moved the special court in January 2023 seeking to expedite the trial by summoning the witnesses.He argued that CBI had only produced 14 witnesses and the case had been pending since 2014. He submitted that the delay in trial was causing hardship to Pancholi. The trial was expedited on January 21, 2023 when 3 witnesses remained to be examined – two investigating officers and an expert.
