The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that sought to challenge the Bombay High Court’s decision to cancel the look-out circulars (LOCs) issued against actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family in connection with the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. 


What the Supreme Court said


A bench led by Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan dismissed the CBI’s appeal, labeling it “frivolous.” 


"We are warning you. You are filing such a frivolous petition, only because one of the accused is a high-profile person. It will be dismissed with exemplary cost. Both persons have deep roots in society," NDTV quoted Justice Gavai as saying.


The LOCs, which were originally issued in 2020, were nullified by the Bombay High Court in February of this year, impacting Chakraborty, her brother Showik, and their parents, Indrajit and Sandhya. 


About Sushant Singh Rajput death case


Rajput, a popular Bollywood actor, was found dead at his residence in Mumbai’s Bandra area on June 14, 2020. Initially, the Mumbai police filed an accidental death report, beginning an investigation into his death. However, a month later, Rajput’s father lodged a complaint with the Bihar police, alleging that Chakraborty, who was reportedly his son’s girlfriend, along with her family, had driven the actor to suicide. 


This complaint led to the case being handed over to the CBI. Subsequently, Rhea and her brother Showik were taken into custody by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a separate drugs case related to Rajput’s death, though they were later released on bail. 


Rhea Chakraborty on spending time in jail


Earlier this year, Rhea opened up about her time in jail on Chetan Bhagat's YouTube talk show ‘Deep Talk With Chetan Bhagat’. “I maintained a diary in jail and the first thing I wrote in it was “People inside are better than the people outside,” she said.  


“It’s a different world. I started feeling grateful when I saw that many prisoners don’t have family support. Or they don’t have Rs. 5,000 or Rs. 10,000 for their bail. At least, I have my family and friends. I told myself, ‘You will get justice. You will get bail. You have not done anything wrong. I have so much to learn from these women while I am here. Why am I wasting my time sulking about what is not in my control?’” shared Rhea.  


“You get breakfast at 6 a.m., lunch at 11 a.m., and dinner at 2 p.m. because it goes with the British way of things. They open the gates at 6 a.m. and lock you in at 5 p.m. Until then, you can take a shower, go to the library, etc. Most people save their dinner and have it at 7-8 p.m. However, I changed my whole cycle. Yeh khana toh waise bhi khaya nahin jaayega. Garam hoga toh fir bhi khaya jaayega. Thanda toh bilkul nahin khaya jaayega. Hence, I started waking up at 4 a.m. and finishing my dinner at 2 p.m.,” she said in the interview.