Sooraj Pancholi Acquitted In Jiah Khan Death Case: 'Salman Khan Stood By Me'

Sooraj Pancholi, the actor who was arrested in June 2013 on abetment of suicide charges in the death case of his then-girlfriend Jiah Khan, has been acquitted. The final verdict was given by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge AS Sayyed on April 28, citing ‘paucity of evidence’. Sooraj was accompanied by his mother, actor Zarina Wahab, during the court visit. He shared that Salman Khan was the first person he messaged after exiting the court. Salman had co-produced Sooraj Pancholi's debut film Hero (2015).

Sooraj and Athiya Shetty made their debuts in Hero (2015), directed by Nikkhil Advani. The film was co-produced by Salman and filmmaker Subhash Ghai. The film was a remake of Subhash's 1983 musical hit film Hero, with Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. Sooraj's father, actor Aditya Pancholi was also part of the film. In an interview, Sooraj revealed that Salman Khan had promised to produce his first film when he was an assistant director on Ek Tha Tiger (2012). Sooraj was accused in 2013, two years before Hero came out, but Salman still produced the film and stood by him. Sooraj said that Salman has done more for him than anyone else, but he knows his limits and won't exploit their bond. Sooraj started out as an assistant director on the films Guzaarish (2010) and Ek Tha Tiger (2012). After Hero, he appeared in the films Satellite Shankar (2019) and Time to Dance (2021). He is set to play the lead role in the biopic on legendary boxer Hawa Singh, although no release date has been shared as yet for the film.