Sooraj Pancholi acquitted in Jiah Khan suicide case
On June 3, 2013, Jiah was found dead at her Juhu residence. A week later, Pancholi was arrested on abetment charges after a six-page letter was found in Jiah’s apartment, in which she accused her then partner of physical and mental abuse. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 1, 2014.
A special court on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi in the abetment to suicide case linked to the death of his former partner and actor Jiah Khan, saying that the 25-year-old was a “victim of her own sentiments”.
On June 3, 2013, Jiah was found dead at her Juhu residence. A week later, Pancholi was arrested on abetment charges after a six-page letter was found in Jiah’s apartment, in which she accused her then partner of physical and mental abuse. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on July 1, 2014.
Saying that the prosecution failed to “provide sufficient, cogent and dependable evidence” to prove the abetment charge against Pancholi, the special CBI court ruled that Jiah was unable “to overcome her emotions for the accused”.
“No doubt, it is an unfortunate incident that a young girl committed suicide. The evidence on record reflects that the deceased was a victim of her own sentiments. She could not overcome her emotions and her love for the accused, for which the accused cannot be held responsible,” CBI judge AS Sayyed said.
The court said that Jiah was unhappy with her professional growth as she was not able to carve a desired place for herself in the film industry.
“Primarily, the deceased was not happy with the roles that were being offered to her. The deceased was struggling for a good position in the film industry. She was not happy about the situation of her career,” the court said.
The court also questioned the credibility of the letter found in Jiah’s apartment.
“The gap in making available the said letter remains to be explained satisfactorily by the complainant. One interesting thing in respect of the said letter came on record that the letters which were written in the notebook of the deceased, that notebook was of the complainant (Jiah’s mother Rabia Khan),” the court said.
Pancholi, 32, said he has regained his dignity and confidence after the ruling.
“The verdict has taken 10 long painful years and sleepless nights. But today I have not only won this case against me but I have also won my dignity and confidence back. It took a lot of courage to face the world with such heinous allegations, I hope and pray to God that nobody goes through what I have gone through at such a young age. I don’t know who will give me these 10 years of my life back to me, but I am glad that this has finally come to an end,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
Rabia said her battle to seek justice for her daughter will continue and she will move the Bombay high court against the court order. “I will continue fighting. This judgment is not surprising and I had anticipated this. This is not a case of abetment of suicide…it is a case of murder,” she said.
