Court defers framing of charges against Sooraj Pancholi

A special women's court on Friday deferred the framing of charges against actor Sooraj Pancholi, who is alleged to have abetted the suicide of his girlfriend, actress Jiah Khan, in 2013. Khan had committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at her house in Juhu.

Additional sessions judge A S Shende was to frame the charges, but since the deceased's mother Rabiya Khan had moved the Bombay High Court seeking the constitution of a special investigating team, which would be assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the court adjourned the hearing on Friday.

The petition filed by Rabiya Khan is likely to come up for hearing in the high court on June 7. Pancholi was arrested and later released on bail by the high court. The CBI has charged Pancholi under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. However, Rabiya Khan has been claiming that her daughter was murdered by the accused and that she did not commit suicide.