In a much-anticipated verdict in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, the Supreme Court of India adjourned and upheld the Bombay High Court’s decision to annul the lookout circular issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation against actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family.
Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan pulled up the CBI, the Maharashtra government, and the Bureau of Immigration to file the appeal against the Bombay High Court order. They said this could smell of a high-profile accused factor. The justices termed the petition “frivolous” and seriously warned the investigating agencies concerned.
This order comes after the Bombay High Court, on February 22, quashed the lookout circulars issued in 2020 against Rhea, her brother Showik, and their parents- Indrajit and Sandhya. The Supreme Court said, “This frivolous petition is filed solely because of the impingement of one of the accused being of prominence and shall be rejected with heavy costs. Both the accused have roots in society.
In substance, the case has its genesis in the tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14, 2020. His death caused a stir in the entire country. Thereafter, a case was filed by the family of Sushant with the police at Patna against Rhea Chakraborty for the offenses under Sections 306 read with Section 34 of the IPC, amongst others.
In August 2020, the case relating to Sushant’s death began to take further shape with investigations by the Enforcement Directorate based on charges of money laundering. The sister and brother were questioned on August 7, while the Supreme Court ordered, on August 19, that the investigation into his death be transferred to the CBI, hence out of the hands of the Mumbai Police. Meanwhile, another line of inquiry started on drug-related allegations, which cropped up in connection with Sushant’s death.
Rhea Chakraborty was arrested on 8 September 2020 over alleged charges of providing marijuana to Sushant. The Bombay High Court granted her bail on 7 October after she spent almost a month in judicial custody.
