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Sooraj Pancholi acquitted: What we know about Jiah Khan suicide case. 10 points
Last week, special CBI judge AS Sayyad, after hearing the final arguments of both sides, reserved his judgment in the Jiah Khan death case for April 28.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mumbai on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi, accused of abetting the suicide of his then actor girlfriend Jiah Khan in 2013, citing a 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).
The actor was found dead at her residence in Mumbai on June 3, 2013.
Last week, special CBI judge AS Sayyad, after hearing the final arguments of both sides, reserved his judgment in the case for April 28.
Jiah Khan death case: What we know:
1. Based on a letter seized on June 10, 2013, which was purportedly written by Jiah Khan, 25, the Mumbai Police had booked actor Sooraj Pancholi under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and arrested him.
2. Sooraj, son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was allegedly in a relationship with Jiah, best known for her performance in Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Nishabd'. Jiah's mother Rabia Khan had alleged that her daughter was murdered.
3. In October 2013, Rabia moved the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into the case while alleging that her daughter had been murdered.
4. Rabia also claimed that her daughter was in an abusive relationship with Sooraj Pancholi. Sooraj and Jiah allegedly started dating in September 2012.
5. On the order of the Bombay high court, the CBI took over the probe from the Maharashtra Police in July 2014.
6. Sooraj Pancholi was charged on the basis of a six-page letter purportedly written by Jiah, who was found hanging in her Juhu home. The CBI claimed the note narrated her "intimate relationship, physical abuse and mental and physical torture” allegedly at the hands of Sooraj, which led to her committing suicide.
7. 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 CBI had probed it.
8. Rabia alleged the police and CBI had not collected legal evidence to prove her daughter had committed suicide.
9. Sooraj, in his final statement filed before the court, had claimed the investigation and chargesheet were false, adding prosecution witnesses had testified against him on the behest of complainant Rabia, police and CBI.
10. The prosecution examined 22 witnesses, including Jiah’s mother. Advocate Prashant Patil, appearing for Sooraj, contended that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
