The trial in Jiah Khan death case, in which actor Sooraj Pancholi is the accused, has been moved to the CBI court, as per a report by The Times of India. Actor Jiah Khan's alleged suicide has been probed by the Mumbai Police and Central Bureau of Investigation, but the trial began in early 2019 with little progress. The CBI court will now be hearing the case pending for eight years.
The sessions court, which was conducting a trial against Sooraj on charges of alleged abetment to suicide, told ANI that the trial should be transferred to a special CBI court.
Advocate Prashant Patil, representing Sooraj in the trial, told The Times of India, "The order granted by the Sessions Court to transfer the case to the CBI court is a welcome move for my client Sooraj Pancholi. We have been moving applications since the beginning of the trial to expedite the case and decide it on its merits within six months. Our applications were allowed. Even then, the trial proceedings were delayed".
Patil added that on the next date they will move an application before the CBI court to expedite proceedings of the trial on a day-to-day basis.
Jiah's mother Rabia told TOI, "Jiah had no fault. A wise decision by the court now. CBI will retrieve evidence from Maharashtra police. We expect answers to the truth because Jiah would never take her life, and she was killed beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Jiah was found dead in her Juhu home by her mother on 3 June, 2013. Pancholi was arrested on 10 June, 2013 and granted bail in July. He is facing trial under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) under the Indian Penal Code.
(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs)
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