Actor Sooraj Pancholi acquitted in Jiah Khan death case due to lack of evidence

A special CBI court on Friday cleared actor Sooraj Pancholi of the charge of abetting the suicide of actor Jiah Khan in 2013 due to “paucity of evidence”.  Khan had died by suicide at her Juhu home on June 3, 2013. Pancholi was facing the charge under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.“Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted,” Judge AS Sayyed of the special CBI court in Mumbai said.

Jiah, who was best known for starring in Nishabd opposite Amitabh Bachchan, was found dead at her home in Mumbai on June 3, 2013. She was 25. Based on a letter seized a week later, purportedly written by her, Mumbai Police had booked Pancholi under section 306 (abetment to suicide) and he was arrested. In the letter she had allegedly spoken about her troubled relationship with Sooraj, and said she was physically and mentally abuse by him.

Even though Sooraj's bail plea was rejected by a Mumbai court, it was on July 1, 2013 that he was granted bail after he signed a bond of ₹50,000. On July 2, the court acquitted Sooraj Pancholi, and said he was not accountable for Jiah Khan’s suicide. Not happy with the court’s judgement, the late actor's mother Rabia Khan requested the court for a thorough and detailed investigation. Around a year after Jiah Khan’s death, the Bombay High Court transferred the case from Mumbai Police to the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI).