Bombay HC Dismisses Rabia's Petition Seeking Another Probe Into Jiah's Death, Trial Could Resume Now [Read Judgment]

The Bombay High Court today dismissed Rabia Khan’s petition seeking an SIT investigation into her daughter Jiah Khan’s death. The bench had reserved the order on February 2.

Rabia has sought a re-investigation by a Special Investigation Team into her daughter’s death as she contends that it was a case of murder not suicide. This stand of Rabia’s is contrary to the CBI’s chargesheet filed before the trial court, which says that Jiah committed suicide and has sought actor Sooraj Pancholi to be charged for abetment to suicide.

Initially Juhu police was investigating the case and it concluded that it was “a case of suicide not murder” and Sooraj was guilty of abetment to suicide. Following this, Rabia filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court seeking a probe by the CBI into Jiah’s death. HC allowed her application and transferred the probe to CBI which then said the same thing as Juhu police that it was “a case of suicide not murder.”

The division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi, in a 38-page judgement observed that the case need not be re-investigated again just so that the petitioner gets a result of her choice -

“Now when after an independent agency has carried out thorough investigation, it would be futile to again appoint Special Investigation Team of the police personnel from the State Police Machinery; especially when the prayer to that effect made earlier was not acceded to. Merely because CBI, an independent agency, like the State Investigation Agency of Police has arrived at the same conclusion, after its re-investigation or fresh investigation, that of ruling out the possibility of homicidal death and that the Petitioner is not satisfied with the same, it cannot be accepted that one more agency, like Special Investigation Team, should be again directed to carry out further investigation. Needless to state, that there would be no end to such exercise until the Petitioner gets the result of her choice.”

Jiah Khan was found dead in her flat on June 3, 2013. Sooraj Pancholi, her then boyfriend was arrested ten days later after being charged with abetment to suicide. He is currently out on bail as the trial court is yet to frame charges in the case.

While hearing Rabia’s petition in February last year, HC had granted a stay on the trial against Sooraj Pancholi. HC’s decision in Rabia’s petition also means that Sooraj’s intervention application stands infructuous. In the application Sooraj had sought vacation of stay on the trial. Hence this leaves no doubt that the trial will resume now.

Read the Judgment here.

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