Actor Sooraj Pancholi acquitted of abetment charges in Jiah Khan death case

Actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was accused of abetting the suicide of actor and model Jiah Khan, was acquitted by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday due to lack of evidence. Sooraj, the son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and veteran actress Zarina Wahab, was present in the court along with his mother.

After hearing the final arguments of both sides last week, Special CBI Judge AS Sayyad issued the judgment in the case on Friday.

On June 3, 2013, Jiah, 25, was found hanging from the ceiling of her house in Mumbai’s Juhu area by her mother. The late actress's then-boyfriend, actor Sooraj Pancholi, was arrested by the Juhu Police for abetment to suicide after a 6-page letter was found in her house that was purportedly written by Jiah.

Earlier the CBI said the letter, which was seized by Mumbai police that began its investigation on June 10, 2013, was written by Jiah Khan. The probing agency claimed that the letter narrated Jiah's "intimate relationship, physical abuse, and mental and physical torture” allegedly at the hands of Sooraj, which led to her committing suicide.

If convicted, Pancholi could have faced a jail term of up to 10 years.

Jiah's mother Rabia Khan, who was a key prosecution witness in the case, had said that she believed it to be a case of murder and not suicide. The Bombay High Court in 2022 dismissed her petition seeking a fresh investigation into the case.

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.

During her deposition, Jiah's mother Rabia told the CBI court that Pancholi used to subject Jiah to physical and verbal abuse. She also alleged that the police and CBI did not collect legal evidence to prove her daughter had committed suicide.

Sooraj Pancholi, in his final statement filed before the court, said the investigation and chargesheet were false.

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