A CBI special court here on Friday acquitted actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was accused of abetment in the suicide of actress Jiah Khan in 2013. Pancholi, 32, was present in the court along with his parents Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab when Special Judge A S Sayyed pronounced the much-anticipated verdict before a packed courtroom on Frdiay afternoon.

“Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you guilty. Hence acquitted,” said Special Judge Sayyed. He also said that Rabiya Khan, Jiah’s mother, could appeal in the matter in the Bombay High Court. A visibly upset Rabiya, who has been relentlessly pursuing the case since the past 10 years, later said that she will file an appeal against the court verdict. A relieved Aditya Pancholi reacted by saying, “the truth always wins! God is great!”, while his wife Zarina was in tears and barely able to speak. Nafisa Rizvi Khan, 25, famous as Jiah, was found dead in her Mumbai flat in Sagar Sangeet apartments, Juhu, around midnight on June 3, 2013, sparking a huge sensation in Bollywood circles. The tragedy took place hours after Sooraj had left her home after living with her for two days, and later the Juhu Police Station recovered a note left by Jiah. In the note pointing the needle of suspicion at Sooraj, she had narrated her troubled relationship, the ordeal, intimacy, physical and mental abuse and tortures, allegedly perpetrated on her by the actor.