Three weeks after it stayed Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi’s trial in the Jiah Khan suicide case, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the deceased actress’ mother Rabia Khan to file within two weeks a rejoinder in response to the CBI’s affidavit in the case.
A HC Bench headed by Justice Naresh Patil gave this direction to Rabia, while hearing a petition filed by her, seeking investigations into the case by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into her daughter Jiah’s death.
The HC Bench will now hear the matter after a fortnight.
Jiah’s boyfriend and actor Sooraj Pancholi faces the charge of abetting her suicide.
After hearing a fresh petition filed by Rabia Khan seeking an SIT probe into Jiah Khan’s death, a vacation bench of Justices BR Gavai and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi had on May 23 stayed Sooraj Pancholi’s trial before a special women's court posted Rabia's petition till June 7.
Rabia had moved the High Court after the Supreme Court on May 17 refused to stay Sooraj Pancholi’s trial in a lower court and directed her to approach the Bombay High Court with her fresh plea seeking relief including an SIT probe into the incident.
On May 10, the special women's court had adjourned the trial till June 10 after Rabia sought to move the High Court seeking stay in the trial pending hearing of her petition.
In her petition before the High Court, Rabia has sought an SIT probe into her daughter Jiah Khan’s death on the ground that the CBI, which is currently investigating the case, had concurred with the findings of Mumbai police that it was a suicide case and not homicidal death.
It may be recalled that on May 2, 2016 refused to extend the stay granted on Sooraj Pancholi’s trial.
The refusal by a division Bench of justices N H Patil and AM Badar — which had earlier on February 25 stayed the trial against Pancholi in the Jiah Khan suicide case — to extend the stay came when it was hearing a petition filed by Jiah’s mother Rabia Khan challenging the CBI’s chargesheet which described the actress’ death as a suicide. (The CBI filed a charge-sheet against Sooraj Pancholi in the Jiah Khan suicide case on December 9, 2015).
Rabia’s contention has been that the Jiah death be handed over to the SIT on the ground that the CBI had also in its chargesheet said that Jiah Khan’s death was not homicidal despite forensic evidence that suggested otherwise.
In her petition before the High Court, Rabia has stated among other things that the trial in the lower court was not proceeding in a proper manner and there was a likelihood of accused (Sooraj) being discharged in the case.
Rabia has also contended that that the CBI “for reasons best known to it, has been vehemently resisting the appointment of a special public prosecutor in the case by Maharashtra government.
Jiah (25) allegedly hanged herself at her Juhu residence on the night of June 3, 2013. Jiah's body was discovered by her mother Rabia Amin Khan.
Twenty-one-year-old Suraj, who was the last person whom Jiah had spoken to on the night of June 3, 2013 before she committed suicide by hanging herself later that night, was arrested on June 10, 2013 and booked under IPC section 306 of Indian Penal Code for allegedly abetting Jiah’s suicide.
Suraj had been arrested on the basis of a letter, purportedly written by Jiah, which was found by her mother Rabiyah Khan and her sister from Jiah's bedroom, three days after her the actress’ suicide.
However, Jiah’s mother Rabia moved the High Court seeking a CBI probe into her daughter’s death on a strong suspicion that her daughter had been murdered.
Rabia has all along been suspecting all along that Jiah might have been hanged after being killed. She had also produced a private forensic opinion to buttress her case.
In her latest petition before the high court, Rabia urged the court to appoint an SIT on the ground that there were several anomalies in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in December last year. She had sought directions to enable the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist the SIT as Jiah was a US citizen.