Actress Jiah Khan Suicide Case: Actor Sooraj Pancholi Acquitted by Court

Mumbai: Actor Sooraj Pancholi, the son of Aditya Pancholi was acquitted of abetment charges in the Jiah Khan suicide case on Friday.

“Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted”, said Judge AS Sayyed of special CBI court in Mumbai.

Around 10 years back actress Jiah Khan was found hanging at her home. Her boyfriend and film star Sooraj Pancholi was charged with abetment.

Last week, Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge AS Sayyad heard the final arguments of both sides and reserved his judgment in the case.

Jiah (25), an American citizen, was found dead at her Juhu home here on June 3, 2013. Police later arrested Sooraj Pancholi on the basis of a six-page letter, said to be written by the Bollywood actress, and booked him for abetment of suicide under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306.

The case was reassigned to a special CBI court in 2021 after the sessions court said that it did not have jurisdiction over the case as the central agency had probed it.

Jiah’s mother Rabia Khan alleged it to be a case of murder and not suicide. The Bombay High Court had last year dismissed her petition seeking a fresh investigation into the case.

Jiah Khan is best known for her performance in the Hindi film “Nishabd” starring Amitabh Bachchan.