Why Sushant Rajput's family wants to contest CBI clean chit to Rhea Chakraborty

Sushant Singh Rajput's family have rejected the CBI's closure report as a superficial exercise and have decided to challenge it in court.

Updated on: Oct 23, 2025, 09:17:45 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan

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Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's family has decided to legally challenge the Central Bureau of Investigation's closure report on his sudden death in 2020, calling it "incomplete" and "flimsy."

The CBI's closure report suggests that Sushant Singh Rajput, in fact, referred to Rhea Chakraborty as “family.” (File Photo)

The move comes after the closure report stated that there was no evidence to suggest that actor Sushant Singh Rajput was confined, threatened, or that any wrongdoing was committed by actor Rhea Chakraborty or others accused in the case.

According to the report, accessed by HT, it also stated that there was no evidence to suggest that Rhea had embezzled his funds or possessions.

Why did SSR's family reject the CBI closure report?

Sushant Singh Rajput's family and their lawyer, Advocate Varun Singh, have rejected the findings outright, describing the closure report as a superficial exercise and have decided to challenge it in court.

"This is nothing but an eyewash. If CBI really wanted to come out with the truth, it would have submitted all the supporting case documents, including chats, technical records, statements of witnesses, medical records, etc, in the court along with the final (closure) report, which they have not done. We will file a protest petition against this closure report, which is based on a shoddy investigation", Singh said.

Rajput's family also believes that the investigation has major gaps. Advocate Varun Singh criticised the CBI for failing to provide key evidence, such as bank statements or digital data, to substantiate its claims about no embezzlement.

"Simply saying Sushant Singh's account has not been used to take out funds is not enough. CBI should have provided the bank statement to back its claim. It's a flimsy report, which won't stand in the court of law," Singh said.

What does the CBI closure report say

The CBI had submitted two closure reports in March this year -- one about the case filed by Rajput's father, KK Singh, in Patna, alleging that Rhea and her family drove his son to suicide and misused his finances; the second involved a counter-case Rhea filed against Rajput's sisters in Mumbai.

“Investigation revealed that Sushant had committed suicide. None of the accused persons had lived/stayed with him between June 8, 2020 and June 14, 2020 (the day he was found hanging in his Bandra flat). Rhea and her brother Showik left the house on June 8, and thereafter didn’t visit the house. Sushant had spoken to Showik on June 10 through WhatsApp at 1441 hours, but had no conversations with Rhea between June 8 and June 14. Evidence had not come on record to show that Sushant had met with Rhea or any of her family members or had been in touch with them by any other means. Shruti Modi had stopped visiting Sushant’s house since she fractured her leg in February. Furthermore, Meetu Singh (sister of Sushant) had stayed with him in his flat from June 8 to June 12,” said an officer, quoting details of the closure report.

Regarding allegations of theft and embezzlement of funds by Rhea, the agency said that “when Rhea and her brother left Sushant’s house on June 8, she took away her Apple laptop and Apple wristwatch, which were gifted to her by Sushant. No evidence has emerged during the probe about any property dishonestly taken out of the possession of Sushant without his knowledge by Rhea or any other accused person”.

The CBI report also noted that Rajput's finances were managed by his chartered accountant and lawyer, and that his expenditures on Rhea, including a 2019 European trip, were made at his own instruction.

“He even told Sidharth Pithani (Sushant’s flatmate) that Rhea was part of the family. Therefore, expenses on Rhea cannot be brought under the ambit of Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. Further, the evidence doesn’t suggest/indicate any movable property being delivered to Rhea by inducing or deceiving Sushant”, the closure report states, according to the second officer.

Meanwhile, a Patna court is scheduled to hear the matter concerning the closure report on December 20.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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