Actor Sooraj Pancholi broke down discussing the court case regarding his involvement in late girlfriend Jiah Khan's suicide over six years ago. Interacting with the media at the trailer launch of his next film, "Satellite Shankar", Sooraj used the occasion to open up about the court case against him, and said that he doesn't have the patience to wait another 14 to 20 years for the judgement.
"I have been struggling in life over the past seven years. I was put behind bars when I was 21 for something I haven't done. I don't want to hype this but I want to say that all these years, I have been very quite because I believed in our legal system," said Sooraj.
Actress Jiah Khan committed suicide in 2013. In the aftermath, the Pancholi family faced allegations because Sooraj was in a relationship with her at that time. He was accused of several other crimes by Jiah's mother Rabiya. He had to spend some time behind the bars, too.
The young actor added that he don't have the patience to wait for a judgement. "I still believe in court procedure but it has been very time-consuming and I don't have the patience to wait for the judgement for another 14 or 20 years," he said.
Sooraj added: "If I am a complainant, I don't have to go to court but the accused has to go to court at each and every hearing. I have been going for court hearings since I was 21. I will turn 29 in a month. In the history of India, mine is the only case where the accused has asked the court to continue the trial," he claimed.
At the trailer launch, Sooraj also slammed Jiah Khan's mother Rabiya Khan for not attending court hearings. "The complainant (Rabiya Khan) duty is to come to court if they want justice. But every time I have a trial, the complainants catch a flight and leave for London because they have a British passport and the authorities over here cannot do anything about it. It's not fair. I want this trial to start because I want an answer whether I am guilty or not," he said.
Sooraj added: "Police has done the investigation twice. I have gone through CBI investigation at the age of 22. I sat with them through day and night. If they said there is nothing in this case, then why is the court not starting my trial? And why won't the complainant be there at the trial? She (Rabiya Khan) has accused me, so now it's her duty to prove I'm guilty," he said.
He also asked the media to take up the case on his behalf: "It's my request to the media to take a stand on this matter. The media keeps asking questions about the case but what should I talk about? So, I am really asking for help. I thought it would get sorted out but it's been too long."
At the trailer launch on Thursday in Mumbai, Sooraj was accompanied by his co-actor in the film, Megha Akash, the film's director Irfan Kamal and producers Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde.
"Satellite Shankar" is slated for a November 15 release.