Special CBI Court Likely To Deliver Verdict On Jiah Khan Suicide Case Today

Suraj Pancholi, son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, was accused of abetting the suicide of Jiah Khan.

Actor Jiah Khan

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New Delhi: A special CBI court in Mumbai is likely to announce its verdict in the suicide case of actor Jiah Khan on Friday, news agency PTI reported. The actor was found dead in her suburban home on June 3, 2013.

Actor Suraj Pancholi, son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, had been accused of abetting the suicide of Jiah Khan. Suraj Pancholi was charged on the basis of a six-page letter purportedly written by Khan, who was found hanging in her Juhu residence.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the letter, which was seized by Mumbai police that began its investigation on June 10, 2013, was written by Jiah Khan.

The CBI claimed the letter narrated her "intimate relationship, physical abuse and mental and physical torture” allegedly at the hands of Suraj Pancholi, which led to her committing suicide.

The case was reassigned to a special CBI court in 2021 after the sessions court said it did not have the jurisdiction over the case as the CBI had probed it.

Last week, special CBI Judge AS Sayyad, after hearing the final arguments of both the sides, reserved his judgement in the case for April 28.

Notably, Jiah Khan's mother Rabia Khan, a key prosecution witness in the case, had told the court that she believed it was a case of murder and not suicide. The Bombay High Court last year had dismissed her plea seeking a fresh probe into the case.

During her deposition, Rabia Khan had told the CBI court that Pancholi used to subject Jiah Khan to physical and verbal abuse. She also alleged that the police and CBI had not collected legal evidence to prove her daughter had committed suicide.

Suraj Pancholi, in his final statement filed before the court, said the investigation and chargesheet were false, adding prosecution witnesses had testified against him on the behest of complainant Rabia Khan, police and CBI.