Sooraj Pancholi accused of actress Jiah's murder could face up to ten years in prison if convicted...
Digital Desk: Almost ten years after actress Jiah Khan ended her life hanging at her home, a special CBI court in Mumbai is expected to rule on Friday in the Bollywood actor Jiah Khan suicide case, in which her boyfriend, film star Sooraj Pancholi, is charged with abetment.
Sooraj Pancholi, the son of film couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, could face up to ten years in prison if found guilty.
AS Sayyad, a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge, heard the final arguments of both sides last week and deferred his decision in the case.
Jiah, a 25-year-old American citizen, was discovered dead in her Juhu home on June 3, 2013. Sooraj Pancholi was then arrested based on a six-page letter supposedly written by the Bollywood starlet and charged with abetment of suicide under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306.
Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code states, "If any person commits suicide, whoever aids and abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine." In the meantime, Sooraj Pancholi remains free on bail in the case.
The CBI alleged that the letter seized by the Mumbai police, who initially investigated the matter, was written by Jiah Khan.
According to the central agency, the message described Jiah Khan's "intimate relationship, physical abuse, and mental and physical torture" at the hands of Sooraj Pancholi, which led to her death.
The case was shifted to a special CBI court in 2021 after the sessions court stated that it lacked jurisdiction because the central agency had investigated it.
Jiah's mother, Rabia Khan, a major prosecution witness in the case, told the court that she thought it was murder rather than suicide. Last year, the Bombay High Court refused her demand for a new probe into the matter.
During her testimony, Rabia Khan told the CBI court that Sooraj Pancholi used to physically and verbally assault Jiah.
Rabia Khan also testified in court that neither the police nor the CBI had gathered any "legal evidence" to indicate her daughter committed suicide.
Sooraj Pancholi stated in his final testimony to the court that the investigation and chargesheet were fake, and that prosecution witnesses testified against him at the request of complainant Rabia Khan, the police, and the CBI.
Jiah Khan was a young talent that was on verge to grow her fame in the industry and she is well known for her role in Amitabh Bachchan's Hindi film "Nishabd."
Leave A Comment