Sushant Rajput Case: Truth Should Come Out, Says Top Court; CBI To Probe

The truth behind the death of "gifted and talented" artist Sushant Singh Rajput should come out, the Supreme Court said today, while hearing a petition by actor Rhea Chakraborty seeking the transfer of an FIR - from Patna to Mumbai - accusing her of abetting Mr Rajput's alleged suicide.

The Supreme Court has given Maharashtra, Bihar and Sushant Singh Rajput's father KK Singh three days to respond to the plea by Ms Chakraborty and asked for a status report by the Mumbai Police, which is probing the death of the actor.

"Let the Maharashta government respond to the plea of Rhea Chakraborty and so far as the death of the artist is concerned, that truth should come out," the bench said during the hearing conducted through video-conferencing. The case will be heard next week.

During the hearing today, the centre informed the Supreme Court that it has accepted the recommendation of the Bihar government for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, escalating politics in a case that is caught between two states, Bihar and Maharashtra.

The recommendation had been made by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday, after the father of Sushant Singh Rajput accused the Mumbai Police of not reacting when he talked about a threat to his son's life in February.

The call for a central agency probe was opposed by the Maharashtra government in the Supreme Court, which said the First Information Report or FIR filed in Patna is politically motivated and that the Bihar Police does not have any jurisdiction in the case. The death is being probed by the Mumbai Police, ever since Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14. 

The Mumbai Police says Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, a rising star in Hindi films, committed suicide and has questioned over 50 people on allegations that the actor was suffering from depression and had felt sidelined because of cut-throat rivalries in the film industry. 

The Bihar police launched a parallel probe last week after the actor's family filed a complaint against Rhea Chakraborty, accusing her of transferring money from his account and mentally harassing him. The complaint alleged that Rs 15 crore was missing from Sushant Singh's account. The Mumbai police says it has found no evidence of any financial wrongdoing by Rhea Chakraborty.

The turf war between the Patna and Mumbai police intensified after a Bihar officer who arrived in Mumbai on Sunday was "forced to quarantine".

The Supreme Court today said the quarantining of the police officer does not send a good signal as there is already a lot of attention on the case.

With inputs from PTI