Actor Sooraj Pancholi has been charged with abetment to suicide (Section 306, Indian Penal Code), in the case of his ex-girlfriend Jiah Khan’s suicide, by a Mumbai sessions court on Tuesday. Instead of feeling stressed about it, the actor and his family are feeling relieved that the case can finally go forward and they can actually fight it now and achieve closure.
“We are very happy [that the trial is beginning]. We have been waiting for this day for the past four-and-a-half years. Now the real trial begins, now we will fight the actual fight. If we are guilty, Sooraj will be punished; and if we are not, then Sooraj will be set free,” says Sooraj’s father, actor Aditya Pancholi.
“We have gone through a lot of stress, but we stood by each other, and friends from the industry like Salman (Khan) were also there for us. The trial cannot go on forever. Sooraj is a young man and he has his life ahead of him,” he added.
In October 2013, Jiah’s mother had moved the Bombay High Court and sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the case while alleging that her daughter had been murdered. Following the Bombay High Court’s orders, the CBI took over the probe from the Maharashtra Police in July 2014. Earlier, Jiah’s mother sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe which was rejected by the Bombay High Court. She then approached the Supreme Court which refused to intervene in High Court’s order.
On December 9, 2015, the CBI filed a charge sheet that said: “”The wilful conduct of the accused has been narrated in the note of Nafisa Rizvi alias Jiah Khan, and her intimate relationship, physical abuse, mental and physical torture by Sooraj, which she experienced, allegedly led the deceased to commit suicide.”
Pancholi was arrested on June 10, 2013 following Jiah’s suicide on June 3, 2013. He was granted bail in July 2013.The special women’s court on Tuesday charged actor Sooraj Pancholi with abetment of actor Jiah Khan’s suicide. Special Judge K.D. Shirbhate framed the charge of Section 306 of the IPC (abetment of suicide) against the actor.
Talking to The Hindu, Advocate Prashant Patil appearing for Mr. Pancholi said: “He pleaded not guilty and summons will be issued to witnesses by court on February 14.”