Jiah Khan Suicide Case: HC Refuses To Extend Stay On Trial Against Sooraj Pancholi

Mumbai: On Monday, the Bombay High Court (HC) lifted the stay it had granted on the trial against Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi for allegedly abetting the suicide of Jiah Khan.

Hearing a petition filed by Jiah’s mother Rabia Khan, who has claimed that her daughter was murdered, a division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice A M Badar asked the trial court to go ahead with the case.

The HC had in February 2016 directed the trial court to defer the hearing of the case since it was considering the grievance made by Rabia.

Jiah was 25-years-old when she was found hanging from the ceiling of her residence on June 3, 2013 and her boyfriend Sooraj was charged with driving her to commit suicide. The HC had transferred the case to the CBI after Rabia approached the court claiming her daughter was murdered. In December 2015, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Sooraj for abetting Jiah’s suicide.

In a fresh petition, Rabia claimed that the CBI had probed the case as that of a suicide. The petition alleged that in the process, important evidence could have been destroyed. Rabia has sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case with the HC monitoring it. The petition also urges the court to enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist the SIT in investigations as Jiah was a US citizen.

Jiah was known for her films Nishabd, Ghajini and Housefull. In the months before her death, she had signed three South Indian films and one Hindi film Aap Ka Saaya opposite Ranbir Kapoor.