Actor Sooraj Pancholi was exonerated of the accusation of aiding in the suicide of Jiah Khan, 25, by a special CBI court in Mumbai on Friday due to a lack of evidence, nearly ten years after she was discovered dead at her home on June 3, 2013.
Jiah Khan’s Suicide-
In her flat in Mumbai, Jiah Khan was discovered hanging around 11:15 PM on June 3, 2013. The original police suspicion was that of suicide. The mother of the deceased, Rabia Khan, claimed that her daughter had been killed, not committed suicide, the next day. On the basis of a six-page suicide note discovered in Jiah Khan’s flat, Sooraj Pancholi, her ex-boyfriend, was detained a few days later on suspicion of aiding suicide as on June 10, 2013, a FIR under Section 306 IPC was filed in response to Rabia Khan’s accusation. The cause of death was determined to be hanging by an autopsy report.
(Picture credit- Hindustan times)
The Final Verdict-
The court said- “No doubt it is an unfortunate incident that a young girl has committed suicide. However, the available evidence on record reflects that the deceased was a victim of her sentiments. She could not overcome the emotions. The deceased could have always walked out of the relationship. However, she could not overcome her sentiments and her love for the accused for which the accused cannot be held responsible.”
The doctor in charge of a group of medical professionals who had performed Jiah’s postmortem on June 4, 2013, provided testimony, which the court reviewed. The doctor’s testimony, according to the court, supported Jiah’s claim that she committed herself. No evidence pointed to homicide as a possible cause of death, the court stated.
According to the report, Rabia’s testimony had “improvements and contradictions” in 80% of the case, which “handicapped” the evidence and “destroyed” the CBI’s case since she had renounced claims made to the investigators and shown mistrust.
The court ruled that none of the claimed mistreatment of Pancholi by Jiah or Rabia was the subject of any complaints made to anybody. According to the court, the Jiah’s “suicidal tendencies” cannot be disregarded based on the facts presented.
Due to paucity of evidence the Special Court acquitted Sooraj Pancholi in the abetment to suicide. Rabia Khan, the mother of Jiah, responded to the court’s judgement and said- “My battle is still on, I will continue fighting. The judgment is not surprising, I had anticipated that this is not a case of abetment of suicide but murder.” Rabia said she will continue to appeal to courts.”
Sooraj Pancholi celebrated it by distributing sweets to the media and said- 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.”
He further added- 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 not only for me but especially for my family. There is nothing bigger than peace in this world.”
He used his Instagram account to post a story in which he expressed his gratitude to all of his followers for their love and support throughout the years.
(Image source- Instagram)
