Sooraj Pancholi, Jiah Khan:-

On April 28, a Mumbai-based Special CBI court cleared actor Sooraj Pancholi of abetment charges in the suicide case of his fellow actor Jiah Khan. Jiah, who had acted in numerous movies such as 'Housefull,' was discovered dead in her Suburban home on June 3, 2013. The court's verdict was delivered by Special CBI Judge AS Sayyad, who stated that due to a lack of evidence, Pancholi could not be held guilty. At the time of the decision, Sooraj, who is the son of actor duo Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was present in the courtroom with his mother.

Sooraj Pancholi, who was allegedly in a relationship with actress Jiah Khan, was accused of abetting her suicide based on a six-page letter seized on June 10, 2013. The letter, which was written by Jiah Khan, was seized by the Mumbai police, who began their investigation at that time. Sooraj was charged under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) and arrested in June 2013, and he was later released on bail in July 2013. 

The note allegedly narrated Jiah's "intimate relationship, physical abuse and mental and physical torture" allegedly at the hands of Pancholi, which led to her taking her own life. In 2021, the case was reassigned to a special CBI court after the sessions court claimed it did not have jurisdiction over the matter because it had been investigated by the CBI.

Rabia Khan, who is the mother of the late actress Jiah Khan and a significant witness for the prosecution, asserted in court that she believed her daughter was murdered and did not die by suicide. She accused Sooraj Pancholi of being involved in her daughter's murder and moved to the Bombay High Court in October 2013, seeking a CBI investigation into the case.

 During her deposition, Rabia Khan claimed that Pancholi subjected Jiah to physical and verbal abuse. She also made allegations that the police and CBI failed to gather sufficient legal evidence to support the theory that Jiah had committed suicide. It is essential to note that these are allegations and not proven facts.

Following Rabia Khan's petition, the Bombay High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the case from the Maharashtra Police in July 2014. After taking over the case, the CBI conducted its investigation, re-examining the evidence, and recording statements from witnesses.

During the trial, Sooraj Pancholi filed a 313-page statement before the court, claiming that the investigation and chargesheet against him were false. He further claimed that prosecution witnesses had testified against him at the behest of Rabia Khan, police, and CBI. Pancholi also mentioned in his statement that he was devastated when he heard about Jiah's death, stating that she was the most important person in his life and the woman he loved.

Pancholi's defense lawyer argued that the six-page suicide note, which was used as evidence against his client, could not be admissible in court as it was not written by Jiah Khan. However, the CBI contended that the letter was indeed written by Jiah, and its content indicated a strained relationship between her and Pancholi.

The Special CBI court, while acquitting Sooraj Pancholi of abetment to suicide charges, held that there was not enough evidence to prove that he had driven Jiah Khan to Suicide . The court observed that the prosecution had failed to establish the necessary ingredients of abetment to suicide against Pancholi beyond reasonable doubt.

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