This is a rare case where the accused is asking to speed up matters: Aditya Pancholi

Over the next few weeks, more details of the Jiah Khan death case might unfold. The accused in question, Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi, will be probed further as the interrogation begins. It was reported that on Monday, the Bombay High Court lifted the stay on the trial against the actor. The next hearing of the case will be held on May 5, which will take place at a special women's court where apparently charges will be framed against Sooraj.
Welcoming the HC's move, the actor's father Aditya Pancholi says, 'This is a rare case where the accused is asking to speed up matters." We are happy that the case will now take its due course.Sooraj will be present for the next hearing.'
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In February this year, Jiah's mother Rabia Khan had filed a fresh petition with the HC against the CBI report by pointing out anomalies that categorised her daughter's death as a suicide and not a homicide. Public prosecutor Dinesh Tiwari says, 'One of the points that were raised by Rabia Khan was that the CBI did not have any answers to the forensic evidence that they provided. The ligature mark around Jiah's neck did not support the theory of suicide. Also they never explained the injury marks that were found on Jiah's body. By the last hearing which was held on May 2, CBI had not filed the charge sheet. We want to know what is taking them three months. Since it did not come through the division bench of Justice Naresh Patil and Justice A M Badar decided to defer it for May 5. The stay however is not vacated yet because even the bench feels that there is some substance to the allegations.'
In the petition, the mother sought for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the HC's mentorship. She also urged the court to request for FBI's assistance since Jiah was a US citizen. This is one of the prime points that the court will decide in the next hearing, informs Tiwari.
Sooraj's lawyer, Prashant Patil, adds, 'We had always requested the trail court to expedite the hearing and if possible even have a daily hearing in the case. Time and again we have asked the prosecutor to open the best case against us and frame the charges if there are any. They have just been coming up with allegations without providing any kind of evidence.'
However, prosecutor Tiwari questions the excitement of the accused's party. 'Have you ever seen any accused being happy to rush into the case? In a normal situation the accused will first apply for discharge rather than asking for expeditious hearing. They are welcoming the move because they are happy being charged under section 306 which is abetment of suicide as the maximum punishment if proved guilty is 10 years to avert being charged under section 302 (murder) for which the punishment is life imprisonment,' he says.
We tried to reach out to Rabia Khan, who is out of country, but she remained unavailable for comment till the time of going to press.
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