Suraj Pancholi’s arrest surprises legal experts

Suraj Pancholi’s arrest surprises legal experts

MUMBAI: Suraj Pancholi's arrest on charges of abetting actor Jiah Khan's suicide has surprised legal experts given the lack of success in securing convictions in such cases.

Lawyers say evidence in the case is unconvincing as cops are replying largely on a letter that Jiah's mother gave them several days after the suicide.

"There is huge doubt whether the letter can actually be considered a suicide note," said a public prosecutor. "First the handwriting needs to be analyzed to authenticate that Jiah had written the letter. Secondly, the date on which it was written also needs to be investigated. If the letter is dated, then it may not prove that the person had immediate provocation to commit suicide.''

Experts say even in cases, where cops have suicide notes, there is no clear trend that they actually end up as evidence to convict people.

In 2008, actor Navin Nischol and his brother, Pravin, were acquitted of charges of abetting the suicide of former's wife, Geetanjali, two years earlier. She had left a suicide note holding Navin responsible. The acquittal order came after defense lawyers said Geetanjali had taken the step while suffering from depression and there was no evidence that she was pushed to suicide.

Lawyers cite the Supreme Court's 2010 order, which said abetment involves a mental process of instigating a person or intentionally aiding a person in committing suicide. "Without a positive act on the part of the accused to instigate or aid in committing suicide, conviction cannot be sustained," the court had said.

A Mumbai court discharged pilot Arjun Menon for abetting airhostess Sucheta Anand's suicide in 2008, saying there was not enough evidence to try him. Police had relied on SMSes Menon and Anand had exchanged before she ended her life to suggest that there was an argument between the two.

But Menon pleaded all along that the differences could not be blamed for driving her to suicide. His lawyer had argued there should have been sufficient evidence to show that he deliberately provoked or incited her to commit suicide.

The 2010 Viveka Babajee suicide case is another such instance. Police had found an entry in Babajee's diary that read 'U killed me, Gautam Vora'. Vora, a stock broker, had been in an alleged relationship with the model before she killed herself after a heated exchange with him.

Vora was questioned and even applied for anticipatory bail. He was eventually let off with no case registered against him.   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Suraj-Pancholis-arrest-surprises-legal-experts/articleshow/20548810.cms?google_editors_picks=true&google_editors_picks=true