The Bombay High Court on Monday quashed a complaint registered against one of the sisters of actor Sushant Singh Rajput – Meetu Singh, while it ruled the complaint against another sister – Priyanka Singh will continue to be probed, Bar and Bench reported. Both sisters had approached the High Court, seeking dismissal of a First Information Report filed against them by the Mumbai Police for allegedly forging and procuring a fake medical prescription for Rajput.
The FIR was registered based on a complaint by actor Rhea Chakraborty. Rajput was found dead in his apartment in Mumbai on June 14.
“There is prima facie case found against Priyanka Singh and there should not be any impediment against investigation against her,” a bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik said on Monday, according to Live Law. The High Court had earlier reserved its judgement in the case on January 7.
In her complaint, Chakraborty had alleged that Rajput’s sisters used a fabricated medical prescription to help him procure medicines banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act only a few days before his death. She also named Tarun Kumar, a doctor at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi, who allegedly signed the prescription.
The two sisters had, however, claimed that the FIR was lodged to “concoct a whole new story entirely different from the statements made” by Chakraborty before the Supreme Court and media platforms, according to Bar and Bench. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the two sisters, had said that the medicines could have been prescribed to Rajput as per the Telemedicine Practice Guidelines during the pandemic, when people could not go out of their homes.
However, Senior Advocate Devdutt Kamat, appearing for Mumbai Police, had said said there was no online consultation with the doctor and had claimed that the police have WhatsApp chats to prove that. Chakraborty’s counsel Satish Maneshinde had sought to dismiss the sisters’ plea and said that “dangerous cocktail of drugs and narcotic substances and medicines” could have led to Rajput’s death.
Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14, in what the police initially said appeared to be a case of suicide. But subsequently Rajput’s family filed a complaint with the Bihar Police accusing his former live-in partner Chakraborty of abetment of suicide and cheating. Three central agencies – the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate, the Narcotics Control Bureau – took up cases against her.
Chakraborty, who was eventually arrested for consuming drugs, was granted bail on October 7. Her brother was also arrested in the case and granted bail after three months.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!