New Delhi: Actor Sooraj Pancholi has been acquitted by the special CBI court in the Jiah Khan abetment of suicide case. The actor released a statement after being acquitted by the court and mentioned that he won not only the case but also his dignity and confidence back.
He said in a statement, “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, 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 specially for my family. There is nothing bigger than peace in this world.”
Earlier, the actor had posted an Instagram story with the message, ‘The truth always wins.”
Sooraj's mother Zareena, who was present in the court with him, expressed relief after the judgement and told ETimes, “Finally…Satyamev Jayate…God is great. I always had the greatest faith in our judiciary. Now it has been further strengthened. It has been ten years of torture, trauma and stigma for my son. Sooraj has lost so much work because of his undertrial status. He can finally live a normal life. But who will give him back the ten years that he has lost?”
Sooraj’s father Aditya Pancholi spoke to India Today after the verdict and said, “We are very grateful to the judiciary, the law of this country and very grateful to God. We all had faith in God and faith in the judiciary.”
Jiah was found dead at her Juhu home in Mumbai on June 3, 2013. Jiah was stated to be in a relationship with Sooraj. Sooraj Pancholi was charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 306 (abetment of suicide). Jiah Khan's mother Rabia Khan had been refuting the prosecution's case that this was a case of suicide and claimed that her daughter was killed.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge A S Sayyad while pronouncing the verdict, said that due to paucity of evidence, the court can't hold Sooraj Pancholi guilty.
Reacting to the verdict, Jiah Khan's mother Rabia Khan told media, “The judgement is not surprising. I anticipated this Our battle is still on. We will appeal. The CBI never took interest in the case.”
“The charge of abetment to suicide has gone. But how did my child die? This is a case of murder...will approach the high court,” she added.
The case was reassigned to a special CBI court in 2021 after the sessions court said that it did not have the jurisdiction over the case as the central agency had probed it.
The prosecution in the case had examined 22 witnesses, including Jiah's mother Rabia, while Advocate Prashant Patil appeared for Sooraj.